


Light & Sky

by Umigiri



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:27:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21915994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umigiri/pseuds/Umigiri
Summary: Happening somewhere at the beginning of KH3 (Slight AU)~Introducing a new world or realm for our hero, Sora, to explore.But... what if he's not the only "key" who possesses the power of light?What if he has yet to meet someone like him, but also his opposite?And what if, his dream, his real dream, will be realized and it's not what he thought it was.. or rather, who it was.
Relationships: Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Sora (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Sora (Kingdom Hearts)/Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	1. The City of Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I took my sweet time writing this. Still am.  
> Heads up, the 1st chapter is all about the Fem OC/reader, so I hope it won't bore you. Don't worry though, Sora will soon make his grand entrance scene. ;)  
> Just wanted to highlight the heroine for a bit. I was all ambitious for my OC's backstory. I had some challenges in writing her so that she would fit in the KH world and Sora's life.
> 
> Tbh, this fanfic is just my self pleasure lol. I have been IN LOVE with Kingdom Hearts and Sora since my childhood days when the game was released and the whole franchise. I'm sure I'm not the only one, right? ;)  
> To whoever's reading or going to read this, thank you and I hope you enjoy.  
> Feedback are appreciated to help improve my writing. Thanks again!

"Let your light guide you towards the sky."  
"Hikari, use the key!"

"Huh?" Your eyes shot up, waking you from a dream. The ceiling of your room slowly coming into focus.  
You realized you had woken up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night for the umpth time this summer.

Panting, you sat up and tried to remember the details of the dream again. It was hard, like trying to cup water in your hands while it trickled down no matter how tightly you hold unto the contents.

You sighed. "Come on." whispering yourself.

You screwed up your face while eyes closed and struggled to picture in your mind the dream you just had.

There was a silhouette of a boy with spiky hair and something shiny was in his hand. Beside him was a peculiar shadow of a creature, sort of like a midget with big round ears.

They're all in darkness, but you can make out they're mouth moving, like they're talking to you, nodding their heads with matching hand gestures.

You opened your eyes and quickly reached out your hand to your bedside table to get a journal and sketch something.  
You were not the best artist, but you managed to draw the outline of the boy and the dwarf who constantly occupy in your dreams.

You realized that the dwarf looked like that of a mouse, with a rather large head and circular ears. Weird, you thought.

You wrote on top of the page the current date and paused to think. Not knowing what to write next, you habitually tapped your pen on your mouth which indicates you were thinking deeply.

After a while, you sighed and closed your eyes once more. Suddenly, you hear a faint *shing*.  
Almost simultaneously, a feeling of warmth enveloped your palm throughout your hand.

You opened your eyes to look at your open palm but the feeling was gone as soon as it came.  
Clenching your fist as though trying to get the warm glow back, you remembered a fading voice, "...use the key."

You weren't sure if it came from the boy or the mouse but you immediately wrote it on your journal. Wondering what this means, and what key they were talking about, you ticked off another mark in your mind counting how many nights now that this dream had been visiting.

It could just be nothing, you thought. Remembering the fact of what nature of the city you were living in.

Still, you usually don't mind your dreams as it keeps changing whenever you had them. Blue skies under wonderful beaches and starry nights are the usual contents of your dreams, representing your inner desire and longing.

But these dreams though, these were.. Different. In contrast to the norm, these dreams were least bit to nothing of what you desire.

You observed that whenever you've had these dreams, it makes you feel empty. And at the same time, like you've lost something that needed finding. Or sometimes, it makes you feel like someone or something is calling you, trying to pull you somewhere.

Shaking your head, you dismissed the thought. "Who'd be looking for me?", you snorted.

Checking the time, which was a little over 5 AM, you yawned and laid down on your bed once more. You didn't sleep though.

You were wide awake, mind still racing while staring at your ceiling. It was a special ceiling you painted yourself.

A mural of the sky and stars clashing in different kinds of hue, blue and white. It calmed you just by looking at it.

The sky always made you feel that way, melting your troubles even just for a moment. While the stars and its bright lights glowed like a beacon in your heart and a constant reminder that you are not alone.

For you, the sky brought the feeling of home. It was, after all, the first thing you remembered when you opened your eyes into this world. A world where dreams and the stars are the source of energy and power, the "City of Dreams".

The City of Dreams is usually covered with an endless blanket of starry night skies. People in this city boasts of its stars and they claim that it inhabits the brightest of the stars in the galaxy. In some days, cluster of clouds are present accompanied by a bluish white sky.

In the early mornings, people would start their day and go about their usual routine. Everyone in the city knows everyone in the city. Neighbors would greet each other in a family-type of way. That's how it is in the City of Dreams.

Some would open their shops or family businesses; there's a general store where townsfolk would gather their daily necessities, a salon and a barber shop with the most talented hair stylists, a clinic with a drug store where you knew the family that runs it and you are friends with their daughter and son who sometimes run their family's store.

There was a gift shop for out of townees, an entertainment center that also sells game consoles and tech devices, then there's a bike shop where you bought your bike and skateboard. About four notably famous restaurants, each holds five stars proudly, a bakery/bake shop where they make the most delicious bread, in your opinion.

Then there's also an armory and supplies where many gentlemen, who's under the guard military of the city, frequent to. The blacksmith there was a friend of your parents and he was recognized as one of the most infamous blacksmiths in his time. Harnessing the dream and star energy into his weapons to add status on them, he also use this process in his defense line of collection for his armories making his creations the sturdiest in the world.

There's a unique apothecary where they sell all sorts of potions and magic-related stuff. You find yourself passing this place many times but too shy to venture inside. Magic is a sort of non-importance in the City of Dreams, it makes of a quirky, out of the norm topic in the bustling vibe of the city.

You, however, find it mesmerizing. But this fact does not surprise anybody who knows you though. You are, after all, the successor to a family metier that your familial lineage were known since ancient times.

Your ancestors are what were called the Dream Mavens or an accumulator of dreams. A profession that is unique only to many generations in your family. You remembered as a child, your grandparents and parents would sit you down for a family bonding and there they would tell you stories about the dream mavens and that you're lineage were the only ones who can accumulate dreams through the power of the stars' light.

As you grow older, the stories became study sessions about the profession and before your grandparents died, they were able to teach you all that you needed to know about your family's life work.

In the old times, this profession was closely-related to magic casters and your ancestors were also referred to as wizards. But unlike actual magicians who can call upon different elements and manipulate them. Dream mavens can only gather, collect, assemble and sometimes manipulate dreams by use of the stars' light power.

Back then, your ancestors were considered as noble advisers of this world that was once called Realm of Visions. Deciphering dreams and visions is a way of understanding the world back then and those who practices the art were taken in high regard.

As the world grew and modernized, however, dreams and visions were no longer impacting the lives of people. Thus, the need for understanding them slowly waned down and eventually, it was viewed as trifling. Dream mavens and their art became less known that nowadays, dream mavens are commonly referred to as Dream Consultants.

Eventually, all sorts of technologies and discoveries found their way into the realm, drastically speeding the cultural change of this world until it came to be known as the City of Dreams.

The new realm still boasts of its brightest stars and how this world would garner the star’s power and dream made into energy. And now, unlike in the ancient times where dreams were considered as prophecy or subliminal messages connecting people, dreams serve mainly a source of energy that is being utilized by the whole realm/city and its inhabitants.

Your grandparents were the last ones to be recognized as Dream Mavens. The last ones in the familial lineage that still believed that the power of their art still holds significance to the ever-changing world. After they departed their life, your parents still uphold their legacy but started the dream consultant business, similar to a therapist.

You, on the other hand, viewed your legacy like how your grandparents did. After your parents decided to modernize the dream art, they made you to study and practice their new profession and advised that you forget about being a dream maven. This hurt you more than they realized but being their only child, you could not, for the life of you, let them down.

These thoughts lulled you to sleep that finally, you felt your eyes drooping. You yawned noisily and switched to your side to catch some more sleep before starting your day. As your thoughts once again morphed into a dream, a faint glow of light started to erupt from you and started to whisk outside your room, through the roof and up to the starry sky. Somewhere far beyond the world you knew, a certain someone was soon to be reached by that glow.


	2. The Gummiship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora and the two half-pints makes a detour before they start their quest/adventure.  
> Slight AU

5:30 AM

In the galaxy of the realm of light, Sora, the chosen keyblade wielder, woke up with a start while exclaiming, "..the key!".

In his shock, he did not notice a faint light surrounding his body and lingered around him for a few seconds before totally fading. His feet got caught on the steering wheel and the whole ship did a 360-degree loop, which startled his sleeping companions, Goofy and Donald.

"Yaaaaaaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!" hollered Goofy, who apparently fell off his chair.

"Waaak! What's the big idea??" quacked Donald, still half asleep while shaking his fist and doing a funny hop in what seemed to be his fighting stance.

"Huh?" Sora looked around and realized he was on the floor of the ship.

"Gawrsh, havin' a nightmare, Sora?" asked Goofy while pulling himself up and plopping back on his chair.

"Why, you. You almost gave me a heart attack, you big palooka!" said Donald swatting his hands at him.

Sora ignored his friends and was trying to remember what he was dreaming about. He definitely saw King Mickey in his dream even though he was covered in a dark silhouette. He'd recognized those round big ears anywhere.

But there was somebody else in his dream, a silhouette of a person with a slender figure who was also covered in a dark silhouette. He recalled that his dream-self was focused on the figure's hand. It seems to sparkle despite the darkness enveloping it.

That sparkle was all too familiar to him. He was about to try and recall what the face looks like when Goofy's hand came into focus, waving in front of his eyes.

"Sora, you ok?" Goofy said, concern in his face.

"Oh, sorry. I'm fine. Just had a bad dream, I guess." He smiled at them. Scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry I woke you guys" he added.

Donald was still looking at him sternly then asked, "You said something about a key. What did you dream about anyway?"

Sora wasn't sure if he should tell them that he dream about the King and another figure that seemed to be another keyblade wielder. It might be just Riku and King Mickey, he reminded himself. The pair must be deep in the realm of darkness by now.

But the figure did not resemble Riku at all, he argued to himself. Yet it feels like a memory at the back of his head or was it really just a dream?

He could've simply just been dreaming about Kairi and was wondering subconsciously if her training is going well at the Secret Forest with Lea.

But then again, based from his experiences these past years he'd been in this adventure, anything happening to him, even if it was just a dream, is nothing close to ordinary.

"Well?" Donald asked again, now starting to eye him.

Sora considered for a moment and then decided to tell Donald and Goofy anyway, thinking that they would've wanted him to be truthful.

"I actually dream about King Mickey." he stated.

"The King?!" both exclaimed. "Was there a message from him?" inquired Donald.

"Is he and Riku doing okay in the realm of Darkness?" asked Goofy.

Looking apologetic for lacking information himself, Sora explained to them his dream. How the King was covered in darkness, and how there was another fading figure far behind King Mickey, whose hand was gleaming and he supposed it to be a keyblade but not fully materializing, and about his speculations if it was just Riku or Kairi.

"Well, it could've been just Riku and the King sending you a subliminal message that they're doing fine in the realm of darkness." suggested Goofy.

"Ya think so?" Sora asked.

He didn't want to worry the others and he definitely didn't want to cause a senseless commotion over a dream.

Goofy shrugged and looked at Donald. "Er, what do you think, Donald?"

Sora looked at Donald too, hoping the duck is on the same page as them.

"Hmm" Donald has his wings crossed over his chest and was tapping his feet trying to make sense of Sora's dream.

He understood what was running in the mind of the other two as he, himself doesn't want to think that the dream has any meaning to it. But the possible fact that there might be another keyblade wielder is something he can't casually dismiss.

"We can't just cast this off and think of it as just an ordinary dream. What if it's really a message from the King? And I don't think that you'd scream like that, Sora, if it wasn't of something important", the duck remarked.

That's true, thought Sora. "So, what are we going to do? Should we go report to the King and ask him himself?"

"But they're far beyond the realm of darkness by now." said Goofy.

"Hey, how ‘bout using the Gummiphone! We could just call them up right away!" Sora said brightly while whipping out his new Gummiphone and shaking it at them.

"Don't be ridiculous. That kind of technology can't be accessed in that realm. Chip and Dale made that clear when they gave us the Gummiphone" snapped Donald.

"But still, it would be so cool if it does." Sora insisted, arms crossed behind his head.

“Hey, uh, do you think we could ask Master Yen Sid?” Goofy said, pointing his index finger.

Sora immediately looked at his friend with an excited smile.

“Of course! Master Yen Sid! If we can’t talk to King Mickey right now, we can go to the next best thing!”

Sora then looked at Donald and tilted his head, “Right?”

“Hmm” Donald was pondering. “We could do that.”

“And then maybe the master can find a way to forward the message to the King, I’m sure he can do that,'' added Goofy.

Sora nodded insistently. Donald faced the other two, “Okay! Let’s go see Master Yen Sid.”

“All right!” Sora pumped his fist in the air.

Goofy buckled up in his seat and Donald went ahead and input their new destination coordinates on the main controls of the ship.

Sora wasn’t just excited at the prospect of talking with the former keyblade master again, but he was mainly thinking about finally getting an update on how Kairi and Lea were doing with their training. Even though to them, time was altered and was drastically slowed down in the Secret Forest. They probably felt like it was only a few days since their training began.

In just a moment, Donald soon announced their take off.  
“We’re all set and ready. Might as well trigger the fast travel feature so brace yourselves!” the duck reminded them.

Sora hurried over to his seat and buckled up. “Next stop, The Mysterious Tower!”

“Yeah!” his friends responded. And off they zoomed through the galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if this is considered a short chapter, but we'll see more of Sora in the future of this fanfic.  
> I promise. ;)
> 
> If someone is reading or about to read this, thank you and I hope you enjoy.  
> Feedback are appreciated to help improve my writing. Thanks again!


	3. --Realm of Darkness: The Mouse King--

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A King's decision and Riku's conviction.  
> A glimpse of the Keyblade master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holiday feels. Late upload.  
> Many things to write but will update as often as I can (maybe once a week).  
> To whoever's reading or will be reading, I hope you enjoy. :)

King Mickey stopped in his tracks, his big round ears twitched slightly. “Huh?”

Riku, who was closely following right behind the King, noticed the mouse’s sudden distraction. “Something wrong, your majesty?”

“I feel a faint light of a heart calling, a source of power.'' the king answered.

“In here? Is it Aqua?” Riku asked.

Mickey shook his head. “No. Since that time I’ve lost contact with Aqua’s light, I never felt it again.”

His face fell remembering Aqua’s deeper descent into the darkness.

“Then, who’s heart was calling to you?” Riku wondered.

“Hm, I’m not sure." Mickey looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the light again but, nope, nothing but darkness.

Despite this however, the little mouse somehow felt something glowing, a source of power of the light far beyond the realm of darkness.

"Hold on, Riku. I want to try something.”

"Alright."

King Mickey placed his hand on his heart and summoned his own power of light hoping that it would draw out the faint glimmer. “I can hear you. Reach out to me.” he whispered.

Riku walked closer to the king and was scanning the area. He summoned his keyblade, ready to defend the King if any heartless were to appear. “Full of surprises even in the deeper part of this realm,” he said to himself.

Mickey suddenly had a vision, he was standing in a bed of starry night sky. Starlight was the first thing that came to his mind. He looked around the vast area and spotted a figure not far from where he was standing. He immediately noticed the figure faintly glowing and it’s light.. Why, it’s light was familiar to him! He recognized the warm glow as the one calling him earlier. 

“Ha ha! There you are!” He exclaimed and started to run towards the figure. Even if it was only mere seconds that he felt that glow earlier, the light from this person was very similar to Sora and that’s why he was able to recognize it at once.

When Mickey was almost near, he only noticed that the figure was slightly obscure due to the light it was producing, shining so brightly it was almost blinding. He covered his eyes and tried to make them out through the slits in his gloves.

“Hey, now.” cooed Mickey. “I hear you calling me.” Cautiously, he made his way to move forward.

The figure shown more brightly before slowly fading until it became a small orb-like wisp of light. “There, there. Were you waiting for me? I’m sorry I took so long to answer.” Mickey said, approaching the wisp cautiously.

He pulled his face close to the wisp and watched as the center of it gleamed and sparkled, eventually showing a sort of vision with hazy features. At first, it reflects Mickey’s hazy face, then slowly turned into that of someone’s room. The mouse’s eyes rounded as he focused on what he was seeing. 

“Is this.. You?” he questioned the wisp, now reflecting a girl lying in bed sleeping soundly. As if answering the mouse, the wisp shone it’s bright light once more and ultimately faded, leaving the king with his own glow in the dark abyss.

Mickey stood there, eyes upwards with a smile on his face. “I heard you.. Hikari. You’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you?”. He placed his hands on his heart once more and closed his eyes.

**  
In the realm of darkness, Riku, who was still guarding Mickey, glanced at the king. He felt the king’s power of light resounding in their position and sure enough, Mickey opened his eyes and looked at Riku. They both smiled.

“Good news, I assume?” Riku asked the king.

“Hopefully. That vision was nothing I’ve ever had before. It was sort of a dreamlike state and it needs proper analysis.”

“Thought it was weird. That was the first time I saw you summon the power of light but it was as if the light enveloping you was not your own.”

“Which reminds me of what happened. I think you’re going to like what I saw in there, Riku.”

“Anything about Aqua?” Riku circled their current parameter one last time, and put away his keyblade once he was sure the coast was clear.

“Not gonna lie, I’d sure be happy to finally fetch her and get out of this realm before anything else happens.”

Mickey chuckled. “You and me both.”

The king gestured at Riku and they both continued their trek, walking further into the realm of darkness. “So what did you find, your majesty?” the lad asked again.

“A wielder.. With the power of the light, a light I’ve only ever seen and produced by one person only. Until today..” responded the King and was looking at Riku knowingly.

Riku wasn’t dumb. He immediately understood what the king was trying to convey to him in those few information he shared.

A new keyblade wielder. Who's heart with the power of light the same as Sora’s?

“I don’t understand. If there’s another being capable of such light like that of Sora, why appear right now? In all the years that we, Sora and the others fought the power of darkness, why haven’t we seen or encounter until now?”

“The last battle.. Must be larger, darker than we anticipated.” The king said this grimly. He slowed his phase and seemed to be thinking deeply. “I think we have to see Master Yen Sid immediately. I have questions about my visions as well.” The king said.

“But.. What about Aqua?” Riku asked cautiously. Prioritizing this new wielder? Then that means abandoning Aqua’s search, right?

King Mickey unconsciously clenched and released his little fists. Riku saw the dilemma in Mickey’s stature. He couldn't help but think, what kind of power does that new wielder possess that it suddenly became a top priority to the king right now instead of Aqua-- who has already fallen too much deeper into the dark abyss.

Mickey suddenly turned to face Riku. Determination in his face. He knew what must be done. It pains him to once again turn his back from Aqua but if it means there is another guardian of light, a powerful one, needed saving to ensure the win for the last battle.. As King of the realm of light, what choice does he have?

“King Mickey?”

Riku’s small voice snapped Mickey out of his reverie. “I’m sorry, Riku, for dragging you this far and suddenly making this decision.”

Riku gave the king a relaxed smile. “You’re forgetting the promise that I swore to you, your majesty.”

“I swore to always fight along your side, in this realm or anywhere else. You are my fellow guardian and my king. Whatever you chose, wherever you go, I will follow.” Riku saluted and bowed at his king.

The mouse king swelled with pride at his companion. When have this boy grew so much and become a fine lad worthy of his title as a Keyblade Master?

“I’m awfully grateful, Riku.”

The purple-haired boy blushed, “Hey, what are friends for, your majesty.”

Mickey offered his knuckles at Riku and they fist bump.

“I need to talk to master Yen Sid about the new keyblade wielder. She has remarkable power of light that resonates the same as Sora’s.” Mickey said, continuing their discussion earlier.

While listening, Riku got distracted at one word. “She?”

“Yes. I’m surprised that she’s not a princess of heart like Kairi, her light was different, like I said.”

“Yeah and I didn’t think that princesses of hearts can be a keyblade wielder, until Kairi. Then maybe this new keyblade wielder owns a heart like nothing we've seen before.”

“That’s right.” Mickey suddenly scrunched his face, he seemed to be trying hard to decipher his vision and failing because he said, “The vision is all hazy and mystified that I can’t figure out what her heart’s telling me.”

He folded his arms and walked back and forth in front of his companion. While Riku crossed his arms over his head and looked at the dark abyss, wondering how he could help the king with his brainstorming when Mickey once again spoke.

“If I’m correct to assume, she might be Sora’s counterpart.” Mickey seemed to tell this to himself.

“But isn’t a counterpart means the opposite of light? Which means she’s Sora’s darkness?” Riku remarked, confusion on his face.

“We already have that, a heartless. And Sora already defeated that part of his heart when he was turned into a heartless himself.”

“Right." said Riku, awkwardly recalling that moment where he was being controlled by Xehanort.

Mickey continued, “What I meant was, just like Sora, her heart is the chosen light in another realm, the Forgotten Realm.”

Riku uncrossed his arms, his confusion changed into surprised.

“There’s.. There’s another realm?”

Mickey sighed and hung his head. He seemed to be unsure about something.

“I’ve read about the Forgotten Realm, but I’m not sure it exists. I only came across about it on an ancient book that Master Yen Sid had in his library. Since all I’ve ever been and traveled at is the light and dark realms, I’m not even entirely sure if what I read from that book is true.”

“Huh.. A forgotten realm..” Riku whispered softly.

“And that’s why we need to consult Master Yen Sid immediately. We need to find that ancient book and figure out how to search for the counterpart of Sora’s light.” Mickey finished.

Riku nodded. “All right. Well, I’m with you, King Mickey.”

Before he moved, he considered something and said, “And maybe we could stop by Hollow Bastion. I’m gonna ask Ienzo to contact Sora once we figured this whole thing out.”

“Good idea.” Agreed the mouse king. “Let’s go.”

As they walked further away from the darkness, a clearing materializes from where they stood earlier. 

A shore of darkness, stretching out unto a black sea. Just a little far off the shore, a shadow began to materialize, menacing and growing.

A closer look showed Aqua, but it wasn’t Aqua anymore.

Her heart is consumed by darkness, her features somewhat altered, her eyes focused on the back of the king walking away from her.

“Mickey.” Anti-Aqua glared.

“That’s the last time you’ll abandon me.”


	4. --The Mysterious Tower--

“Touch down!” Sora exclaimed. “Hurry, hurry, Donald.” He was pushing the duck, who was making last minute adjustments to the ship before landing.

“Waaak! In a second, calm your tail feathers!” quacked the duck and flapping his wings at Sora.

The trio arrived at Yen Sid’s tower in just a short time, thanks to the recently installed fast travel feature on the Gummiship.

Donald finally turned off the engine and allowed Sora to open the Gummiship’s door.

“Don’t dawdle, guys!” Shouted Sora at his two friends.

The two looked at each other and shrugged.

“Garwsh, is he that excited to see the master?” whispered Goofy.

“He’s just impatient for news about Kairi and Lea.” Donald threw a scolding look at Sora’s back and sighed, “Oh well, at least we can replenish our supplies while we’re here. I’m running low on Ether anyway.”

“Uh-hyuk! You sure use your new spells a lot these days, Donald.”

“They were personally taught to me by one of the greatest sorcerers in this realm, of course I’m gonna use them.” Donald swelled with pride at this statement

“Master Yen Sid instructed me that I’ve got to level it up before the last battle.” He added and Goofy nodded seriously.

“Well, let’s go.. Before Sora nag at us again.” Gesturing Donald to the entrance of the Mysterious Tower.

“Hmp. Sometimes I keep forgetting that he’s basically an adult now but he still acts childish.” Shaking his head, Donald followed Goofy to the door.

**  
Sora was nearly at the top of the tower when he looked back and saw that his two friends were just about to start climbing. He sighed openly and called out to them by the window, “Donald! Goofy! What’s taking you guys so loooong--” he whined.

At this, the already moody duck went red with annoyance, “How many times do I have to--”

“Be right there, Sora!!” Goofy cut him off before he disturbed the whole tower and got scolded by the master.

Donald must’ve caught on because he immediately subdued himself and settled with grumbling to himself, “Ahh-phooey… Childish half-pint..mumble..grumble..grumble..”

Back up at the tower, Sora pouted at them before perching himself at the top of the stairs to wait for his companions.

He needed to sit down anyway. He can’t contain his excitement for this visit, expecting to hear news about Kairi’s training. He even forgot the main reason why they came here in the first place.

At that moment, he felt guilty after this thought reminded him of his dream. The King. And there was another person too.

Sora gave himself a light slap on both cheeks and shook his head to pull himself together. I got to be more serious about this, he thought to himself. How am I to save anyone if I’m still this manchild who forgets about something important?

When Donald and Goofy finally reached the top room of Master Yen Sid, Sora was now back to his calm self.

“Took you guys long enough.”

“Why I oughta-” started Donald, he looked up to find Sora offering a hand to steady him after almost stumbling at the last step.

He took his hand and Sora smiled. The trio grinned at each other and formed a line outside master Yen Sid’s door.

“Good to see you’re properly behaving now, Sora.” Donald glanced at him sideways.

“Yeah, sorry for being too eager. I’m gonna try to be more mature from now on.” Putting his thumb up.

Goofy placed his hand on Sora’s shoulder, “Aww, that’s okay Sora. We understand you’re just missing Kairi and Lea. But they need to focus on their training as one of the seven guardians of light. So we have to be patient, that’s all.”

“Well? Are we ready?” asked Donald.

The two nodded and Sora reached out to the door knob to see the wise old keyblade master.

***  
Master Yen Sid stood up from his chair and looked out his window. He was massaging his long beard while Sora, Donald and Goofy nervously stared at his back, waiting for him to speak.

They just finished telling him about Sora’s dream. Sora even told him about what he interpreted about it. He knew the master would take him seriously, even though the thought of another keyblade wielder without the master’s knowing is low on probability.

Still, he thinks he made the right decision on telling everyone what he saw and felt. After all, they needed all the help they could get for the last battle, even if it’s just a prospect of another wielder coming from a dream of his.

After a while, the master finally spoke, “Sora.”

Sora stood up straight, hands on the side, “Yes, master Yen Sid?”

“Did you happen to observe the surroundings of your dream?”

Sora was slightly surprised by the question. “Uh, kinda?” He recalled his dream again, “It’s hazy but I remember twinkling lights, like stars.”

His response seemed to clarify what Master Yen Sid had in mind for he nodded knowingly and sat back down at his chair.

“A bed of starry night sky.” stated the master.

“Pardon?” asked Donald.

“Starry night sky?” Goofy scratched his head. 

“L-like the sky here in the Mysterious Tower, you mean?” asked Sora.

“That’s a relevant observation.” Master Yen Sid smiled thinly at Sora.

Sora blushed and lightly scratched his nose.

“Listen closely, Sora, Donald and Goofy.” The trio moved closer to the master.

“You three know very well that there are two realms existing in our universe. But in ancient times, there is actually a third realm that co-exists with the realm of light and realm of darkness.”

The trio was nodding fervently but stopped so suddenly, apparent shock at their faces because of what they just heard.

A third realm?? Sora’s mind was swimming.

Donald spoke first. “How is that possible, master? We’ve never come across another realm in our journey before and even the king never mentioned it.”

Master Yen Sid nodded. “Maybe it’s better if I explain this when the others are here.”

“Others?” asked Goofy.

At this statement, Sora suddenly felt a glow of power about to enter the Mysterious Tower. “Oh, Riku and King Mickey! I feel their light approaching. They’re coming here too!” Sora exclaimed.

“Really??” Both Donald and Goofy were shocked and both looked at Master Yen Sid questioningly, who simply smiled.

“Sora, I see you’re finally able to feel a guardian’s power of light.” said the master.

“I.. I think so. I’m sure I’ve felt them and somehow my heart recognized their light so I was able to tell that they were from Riku and the King.”

“Your power was triggered that led to an opening in your heart.”

“An opening in my heart?” Sora repeated clenching his heart.

“Uh, isn’t that dangerous? Sora’s heart is exposed if it has an opening.” said the confused Goofy.

“No, no, you dummy. He meant that Sora’s heart awoke another power.” Donald quacked. “Right, master?”

“Not quite.” Yen Sid curtly said. “Aww.” the duck quietly hung his head in disappointment at his wrong answer.

“This is not a power I’m speaking of, but a sense. While you have the basic senses in your physical body; the sense of sight, sense of smell, sense of hearing and the others. But when you possess the power of light, your being will soon develop an important perception, the sense of light. It must be noted that the development of this is not immediate, but triggered. Just like what happened to Sora.”

“Ohh, I get it. So to put it simply, the sense of light can feel other light’s presence, “ Donald tried once more.

“That is correct.” The duck glowed at finally getting the right assumption.

“And it was triggered by the dream I had?” Sora said thoughtfully.

“So that’s why you sensed the King and Riku, your sense of light has been awakened.” Goofy remarked.

“Speaking of those two, they’re here! Riku and King Mickey just arrived!” Reported Donald, who was suddenly at the window pointing at the two new arrivals below.

Sure enough, when Goofy and Sora ran to the window to peek as well, they saw King Mickey and Riku walking towards the tower. “I told you I sensed them!” Sora said excitedly.

“That sense of light thingy sure is handy.” said Goofy.

After a couple minutes, they soon heard a knock at the door and a deep response from the master, “Enter.” Yen Sid called them in.

As soon as Riku opened the door, he was hugged and tackled to the ground before he could brace himself.

“What? Hey! Argh, what gives?” the silver-haired boy struggled before realizing who they were. “Huh? What are you guys doing here?”

“The same reason as you, I think.” Sora grinned. He liked this rare moment where he gets to confuse Riku instead of him.

The trio chuckled as they got off of Riku. Sora offered his best friend a hand to help him up. The other took it warmly and let him be pulled off the ground. It shocked Riku to realize that Sora can lift him up so swiftly now, a feat he struggled when they were young back at Destiny Islands. Sora really has grown since then, he smiled at the thought.

“Your majesty!” Donald and Goofy ran to their king and bowed.

“Ha ha! I’m glad you’re all okay, fellas!” Mickey patted his royal magician and captain of the royal knights.

“Now that you’re all complete. I believe both parties appeared here with the same reason.” Master Yen Sid started.

“You mean, King Mickey and Riku knew about my dream?” asked Sora.

“What dream?” Riku looked at Sora.

“I dreamed of King Mickey and-”

“A keyblade wielder.” Mickey cut him off.

Riku’s eyes widened. “Then, her light already reached Sora?” He turned to his friend. “Her heart called out to you?”

“What reached who now?” Goofy scratched his head.

“Maybe for time consuming purposes, why don’t we let Sora explain first.” Yen Sid decided to take the discussion in his hands.

“Okay. So we were just about to head to Herc’s world and took a night off to sleep when--”

**  
After Sora finished his part, he noticed that King Mickey and Riku shared a look and nodded at each other.

“Did something happen in the realm of darkness, your majesty?” Sora asked.

“I was contacted by that same light while we were at the realm.” Mickey admitted, “And I got the feeling that light would reach out to you too, Sora.”

“So they really are connected. Sora.. And that person who bears that light?” Riku walked towards Sora and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“So, it really was the light of a keyblade wielder? A counterpart of me? I don’t even know what that means.”

“I think Sora needs to meet her.” Riku concluded.

King Mickey side glanced at his former master who was silently listening to the group.

“I agree with Keyblade Master Riku. But before that, we must discuss a more important matter. This is necessary for Sora, specifically.” He looked at Sora and the spiky-haired boy nodded.

Master Yen Sid continued, this time to the mouse king,, “And Mickey, I want you to get something for me in my library. I’m certain by now, you already know what it is.”

He gave his former apprentice a knowing stare and the mouse was taken aback. It still surprises him how much his master can be predictive of the happenings in the world.

“Do not dawdle now. This is a rare time to be given special permission to access this book, unlike the one you used before with the broomstick.” His master spoke a little sternly this time that Mickey reminded him of his trainee days with Master Yen Sid.

The mouse responded promptly, “I understand Master Yen Sid. I’ll go get it.”

And off he went to the farthest door in the room where Master Yen Sid’s library was located.

“Now, Sora, as you are now well aware of the matter, your dream is no ordinary dream. It is a vision. You need to find your “counterlight” as she may not just be anything like an ordinary keyblade wielder.” Explained the master.

“I understand, master. But how will I find her? My dream and King Mickey’s vision was not clear. We have no means of tracking her world.”

“That’s where this book comes in.” And as if on cue, King Mickey suddenly came out from the library door holding a very large, very ancient book. The book was large enough that they could only see Mickey’s ears..

“Whoa!” Sora saw many things from his journey, but this is the first time he has seen a book such as this one. It’s even more mesmerizing than Winnie the Pooh’s book.

The book was adorned with a dark bluish cover and adorned with stars that seem to twinkle for real.

“Garwsh, that’s a pretty huge book.” said Goofy.

“Do we need to go inside it or something?” asked the duck.

“Ha ha! No, fellas. This is not like Pooh’s world. This is the book of the Realm.” Mickey placed the book in front of Yen Side and settled it at his desk.

Yen Sid seemed to know exactly what page they were looking for because once he opened the book, he turned it around for everyone to see.

Riku spoke first. “So it does exist. The third realm.”

“Yes, the Forgotten Realm.” Yen Sid confirmed what Mickey said earlier.

Sora took a peek at the book. “So, we can find the other keyblade wielder in that Realm?”

“We are not certain. This is not like any other world you encountered in the Realm of Light. The Forgotten Realm contained the most ancient power similar to that of the power of light. Dreams and star energy.”

Yen Sid pointed at an image in the book. The trio and Riku leaned forward to see. The graphics were a bit smudged and the page was aged with time but they can slightly make out a sort of pattern and the silhouette of a citadel.

“In the olden days, it was not used to be called the Forgotten, instead it was called the Realm of Visions. It is said here that this realm is home to the fabled Dream Mavens.”

“What are the Dream Mavens?” asked Riku.

Mickey pointed at another image in the book showing an old man raising his hands into the star. “These are the Dream Maven. They gather, collect, assemble and sometimes manipulate dreams by use of the stars' light power. They can manifest through the power of the star’s light and dreams.”

“I didn’t know the star's light power can be harnessed. That’s amazing! So they’re like magic casters but they use star and dream energy to manifest!” Donald excitedly read the part of the Dream Mavens in the book.

While Donald was reading, Master Yen Sid continued and talked directly to Sora. “Your dream and Mickey’s vision holds deeper information than what you both just saw. You need to seek a Dream Maven to help you analyze your visions further. Only then can we hopefully reveal the counterlight’s whereabouts.”

Mickey looked at Sora and Riku’s still confused faces, so he explained further. “We only felt her light but we are almost blind on where to search. We have a feeling that her heart’s light power is wandering across the realm. She might not know her purpose yet that’s why her own heart did the initiative instead, perhaps even without her knowing.”

“I see.” Riku understood the seriousness of the matter. It’s like being back from scratch searching for Kairi when she was missing. With no means of a clue or anything on where to look.

Sora was quiet for a long time before Riku noticed him. “Sora, you okay?”

“Is it too much to process?” asked Donald. He was done reading up the Dream Mavens and was flipping through the other pages. “Don’t worry, I’ve been listening. I can explain to you again later when we go.”

“No, it’s not that.” It is clear to him what they’re supposed to do but Sora felt a little sad at the same time. Hearing that the heart of this person was wandering and had gone to great lengths, even crossing over realms just to reach him and the king, made him feel that this person must be searching for a long time.

Why didn’t he feel her sooner? He was too preoccupied at his own personal feelings that he was unable to respond to her light calling out to him.

Sora sighed. “I’m worried for her. Her heart must be tired looking for me that her light was not enough to show me where she was.” Sora looked up at them. “I have to find her.” He decided.

“And we will.” Assured King Mickey with a smile.

Riku nodded at Sora while Donald and Goofy nodded vigorously.

“But first we have to find a Dream Maven-- which is where again?” Sora scratched his head apologetically.

“The Forgotten Realm, I mean the Realm of Visions!” Donald exclaimed and shook his head.

“Why was that realm forgotten in the first place anyway?” Riku suddenly asked.

“We can only base on what the Book of Realms tells us. It is said here that something happened to the great Dream Mavens and the people in that realm, something that had to do with the heartless who tried to corrupt them, just what they’re currently doing to the realm of light. To avoid it, they “cage” their whole realm so that the heartless can never make contact with them.” Mickey explained.

Riku sighed thoughtfully, “But doesn’t that mean that the people there don’t have darkness in their hearts? Even just a little?”

“That’s correct.” Master Yen Sid smiled at Riku for his keen observation. “Remember what I’ve told you that the people there use their stars and dream energy, essentially, they require only good dreams to be produced on their realm.”

“Being closed off from the other realms means they are able to seal away the darkness in their hearts, even the tiniest bit of dark cannot be found there according to the book", said King Mickey.

“I see. Well that’s good!” Riku turned at Sora, “At least you won’t trouble yourselves with the heartless while you’re there.”

“What a relief!” Sora grinned at his friend.

“That’d be a nice change for a while.” Goofy was already imagining such a nice world without the pesky heartless. Then he was struck by a sudden thought.

“Hold on, Sora. D’you know how to get there?” Goofy frowned.

Sora scratched the back of head, “Oh yeah. Your majesty how do we get to the Realm of Visions?”

Mickey seemed to forget about this dilemma as well, “Uhh, well, you see fellas, that realm isn’t exactly accessible or even existing in the Realm of Light so there’s no pathway to where that is. That’s also one reason why it’s called the Forgotten Realm by the few people who know its existence.”

“Whaaat?” Sora, Donald and Goofy simultaneously bent down in disappointment.

“Then how do we go to the Realm of Visions?” Riku pointed his question to master Yen Sid, who was flipping the pages of the book again.

“Like all worlds, the Realm of Visions also contains a door.. With a keyhole.”

At this statement, Sora immediately looked up with a bright smile and materialized his keyblade. “Easy peasy!” He said with a smirk.

“This is no ordinary keyhole, Sora. This cannot be opened by the keyblade you possess.”

“So, what kind of key can open the Realm of Visions, master?”

Master Yen Sid’s eyes twinkle before he spoke, “Let your heart be your guiding key.”

The group understood and surprisingly, so did Sora, which Donald did not fail to point out.  
“How ‘bout that, Sora understood the master’s directive for once.”

“Hey!” Everybody laughed.

“Well, now that everyone’s on the same page. We should prepare and set out soon.” Mickey talked over the group.

Master Yen Sid held up his hand and everyone went quiet. “Mickey and Riku, you both need to continue your quest to save Master Aqua. I am afraid we took too much time already.”

Mickey was attacked by a sudden surge of guilt, how could he forget about her?

He looked at Master and Yen Sid. “We will, master.” He assured him.

Mickey turned to Sora, “Can I ask you a favor, Sora?”

“Sure. Anything, King Mickey.”

“I leave it to you to find the wandering light. Please search for her on my stead as well. I..”, the king hesitated. He snatched a glance to master Yen Sid and he saw his former master smile.

This gave him the courage to speak his mind. “I felt her light and you were right, her heart was searching for a long time. It took so long for me to come but now she has you to look for her. As I am to Aqua, she has been waiting in the realm of darkness for so long. I can’t sacrifice her time anymore.”

“I understand, your majesty. And don’t worry, I will definitely find my “counterlight”. She will be our new keyblade wielder on our team! I will search for her and help her regain her light’s strength.” Promised Sora.

“Thank you.” Mickey smiled at Sora and to the group as well.

Sora and Riku stared at another before Riku reached out for Sora’s hand. Sora took it while smiling and Riku instantly pulled him into a quick embrace. Blushing, he hugged Riku back.

“Take care of yourself out there, Sora. It’s a new realm. Even if the heartless can’t get there, we still don’t know if other kinds of enemies we’re facing.” Riku whispered in Sora's ear.

Sora grinned and copied his best friend’s gesture, whispering back his response, “Don’t worry about me. I’m always careful. Go save Aqua. She needs you both.”

They parted and smiled one last time. Meanwhile, King Mickey was also giving last minute pep talk with his master magician and captain of the royal knights.

“Well fellas, make sure you pack everything you need. Donald, your magic has greatly improved. Goofy, make sure you maintain your shield after every battle.”

“Yes, your majesty!” The two saluted their king.

“Well, we’re off!” Sora walked towards the door and waved back at Master Yen Sid, Mickey and Riku.

Once they’re out the door, he looked at his two half-pint companions, “Ready to meet a new keyblade wielder, guys?”

“You bet!” said Goofy.

“Well? Come on, Sora! What’re we waiting for?” Donald 

“Let your heart be your guiding key” Sora reminded himself of the words of Master Yen Sid.

_I’m sorry Kairi, I really am excited to hear from you, but--_

Sora paused his train of thoughts and looked down at his hands. He knew that Kairi would understand and support him on his new quest. He placed his right at his heart.

_I think there’s a person who really needs me right now. We’ll be in touch soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did my best to make this chapter longer than the previous ones.  
> Holiday vacation over! Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)
> 
> -any errors will be fixed later


	5. A Struggling Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dispute between friends.  
> Meet-cute.

It was almost midday in the City of Dreams. Quiet and peaceful, like always.

In a small room decorated with murals of pre-dawn and dramatically cloudy sky, a boy with clean cut, army colored hair was lying on a long bench covered with intricate patterns of numerous falling stars. He seemed to be telling a comical story to someone in that same room.

“--training started out okay. But then General Taek called out my name. That’s when my teeth started falling out one by one!”

He was panting and pointed at his mouth showing his teeth in exaggeration.

He paused and seemed to be waiting for a response, then got impatient. So he sat up and stared at the girl sitting across him holding a portfolio. She looks like she was writing something on it. He can see a glimpse of her short hair in blue and black ombre that reminded him of the starry night sky of their city.

He noticed that she never made any movement or even looked at him all the while that he was talking.

“Erm erm.” He pointedly cleared his throat.

The girl peeked at him and he caught one of her sky blue eyes. He watched as she lowered her portfolio and straightened her glasses.

“Did you even hear about the part of how my teeth started falling apart in my dream, Hikari?” he raised his eyebrows at her.

“Yes, Pon.” Hikari said shortly and pointed her pen at her ear to indicate that she was indeed listening.

“Well, I hope you’d be more responsive about it though. I’m, like, freaking out about the mock survival skills training next week, y’know.” He sat up and crossed his arms.

You stared at the boy across you and sighed.

You and Pon had been friends ever since his family moved into your neighborhood when you were 4 years old.

Pon was always the chatterbox at a very young age. He even made friends with your parents first before they sort of forcefully set you up for a play date with him one day, and you two got stuck with each other ever since.

Despite Pon’s non stop blabbering, Hikari found that he’s actually very sweet and caring. Sometimes, he’s even sort of protective of her and that made them closer.

Since she was an only child, Pon gave off the feeling of a sibling. Someone you can talk to whenever you feel pressured by your parents. He does not encourage your obsession as a Dream Maven but he does listen and never left you on your own. He loves making jokes and he would make you laugh on occasion. On humdrum days, the two of you would just talk and wander the streets of the city.

Pon was a newly assigned cadet at the city’s military. You thought that he was very courageous when he told you that he decided to enlist in the military right after both of you finished your schooling. He seemed more mature and brave since that day.

This time, however, is not one of those moments.

You tried hard not to put on a meh face in front of him. He is, after all, a client at the moment.

“I told you, I accumulated your dream just after you sat down earlier. I already analyzed it and you’re fine. That vision was just quotidian. Very normal.” You said nonchalantly using your work voice.

“YOU just insisted on talking.” Switching back to your normal tone while you gave Pon an exasperated look.

“I know you can do that.” Pon said defensively. “But it’s nice when someone is listening to you and telling you the meaning about stuff like this, y’know.”

“Ugh, I’m sure that’s what my parents were advertising on what we do.” She lowered her gaze and spoke to the floor, “Anyway, we dream consultants, as my parents put it,” you rolled your eyes at this, “Are not a personal diary.” You finished sternly.

“Oh, come on. Don’t get mad, Hikari.”

“Why can’t you just talk to me about this stuff when we’re outside this dreary office? You know I’d much rather hear this as a maven rather than a consultant.”

Pon just shrugged at you, so you continued. “I could be finishing my research by now, I’ve collected a new type of dream wave just yesterday.”

Hikari stood up and placed her portfolio at a desk stationed at the right edge of the room. She took out a small vial from one of the desk drawers and walked back to her chair.

Pon stared at the bottle that Hikari was holding out to him. Pon groaned. “Awww, you’re tinkering again?”

You shot him a look and Pon stared at the vial skeptically. “What did you manifest this time?”

Hikari shook the vial and something started to swirl inside the container, a bright yellowish dust with twinkling lights.

“Whoa!” You heard Pon’s amusement and it made you smile. Sure, Pon isn’t exactly thrilled at your way as a dream maven, but he’s still supportive of you and your goals. One of the reasons why you’re attached to him and why you keep him around.

The ‘dust’ swirled slowly and started to sort of drift around the vial while still shimmering. “This is one of the results of my recent research.”

“Whaaat? It didn’t explode this time?!” Pon was actually excited.

“I got a way around it, and yep, I managed NOT to explode. Thank the stars.” You rolled your eyes in relief sort of way. You thought that Pon must be remembering your last experiment with the dream energy you collected which ended in an “explosive” manner.

Good thing you already knew of a way to use the starlight energy to create a barrier, otherwise, your parent’s garage could’ve ended up in bits and pieces. But it didn’t hide the noticeable damage from the inside. Your parents were angry, no surprise there, and they had set a strictly work-only usage of your powers for a month.

Pon suddenly put on a worried face, “You do know that your parents already warned me not to indulge you so they could still let me make appointments with you and hangout, right?”

Hikari just waved her hand dismissively and snorted.

“Pfft, don’t mind them. They seem strict but they ultimately care about me. I’m their “unica ija”, remember?” Winking at Pon’s unimpressed face.

“That didn’t stop them from banning you from using your powers though.”

You pocketed the vial while shrugging. “Pon, relax. I’ve got this under control.”

Pon crossed his arms and pouted.

“In fact, meet me at the usual spot tomorrow morning, preferably after my jog.”

“Aww, so early.” He whined.

“I’m going to let you finish your session today in three full hours.” You offered.

“Fine.” Pon said dejectedly. You knew he couldn’t resist the opportunity to gab and your bait worked.

Hearing Pon blabber is worth it if it means you could show your powers as a dream maven. You know that your grandparents would want the family’s real expertise to be known, even if it just means to one person.. For now. You smiled lovingly at the picture of them on your desk and mentally prepared yourself for a whole afternoon of Pon.

**The next day..

Hikari was taking her usual jogging route in the forest just a little west outside of the city. She and Pon were the only ones who knew this route since nobody would go to the forest nowadays.

It was actually an abandoned national park that used to be a tourist spot famous to the locals for its colorful flora. Aside it’s brightly colored blooms, the forest was well-known for its wide clearing where the sky is bluer than normal, which makes it your favorite spot.

Due to some strange phenomena, the flora was suddenly drained from their original colorful hues and was turned into a decaying shade of grey.

Since then, no more people were interested in going to the park because of its depressing state.  
You felt sorry for the once admired forest that you vowed to restore it slowly, even keeping it company just by jogging every morning and planting regular flowers. Sadly, no matter how many you plant, it eventually wilted or turned grey.

You circled the entire forest once more through the route you made yourself and decided to take a break at the center of the clearing where a huge stump of what used to be a large camphor tree was settled. You were just thinking of where the hell Pon was when you noticed him finally trudging along the west side trees.

He must be still sleepy, you thought. His eyes were closed while walking. You giggled and called out to him. “Hurry up your lazy butt!”

“Shush, shush..” Pon lazily sat down a small fallen trunk beside you, eyes still closed and putting his index finger to your mouth to silence you.

You felt a little mischievous while you stared at Pon’s droopy stature.

Removing his hand away from your face, you took out a vial from your back pocket, the same vial that you showed to him yesterday.

You uncorked the vial and let the swirling yellowish dust circulate your hand. You used your powers to draw in its elemental components and released it at Pon as an electrical discharge with a very low frequency but enough to jolt Pon into awake.

“Gaaah!” Pon jumped up and fell backwards to the other side of the fallen tree trunk.

A wisp of smoke was coming out from his hair. He peeked his head and was looking at you with half-lidded eyes. “What was that?” he demanded.

“Just a little charm I’ve been working on from the yellow hue dream wave I’ve assembled.” Gesturing the hand you used for the craft.

“So you’re still up to that stuff, turning dream waves into elemental--” He paused apparently searching for an exaggerated word to describe what she had conjured. “--catastrophe?!” He ended dramatically.

You flicked him on the forehead. “Ow!” He reacted while rubbing his head and patting his singed hair. “Why can’t you collect energy like a normal citizen?”

“Because I’m not just a normal person in this realm, I’m a dream maven.” You said with dignity. “And I do what dream mavens do. I just don’t harness these energies. I make something off them.”

The inhabitants of the City of Dreams can only harness the dream and starlight energy using a mechanical device called the “Utilizer.Exe” or simply called the U.E. device, and convert the energy into mechanical power.

Of course, you and your parent’s case is different. As descendants and actual Dream Mavens, you can see the energy in its purest form even with your naked eye and manifest them without any special devices.

Your grandparents trained you on how to gather, assemble and analyze the dream waves to the highest level attained by a Dream Maven. But it seemed that creating something from these energies was uncommon even to them.

There’s still so much to learn even during all those years in the past and you realized this after all that needs to be taught to you, you already mastered.

At one point, you noticed that some people would produce certain types of dream waves that are not like the usual energy being harnessed. It contains a sort of colored light power that can be manipulated for elemental casting which is similar to what mages use.

Over the years since you discovered this fact, you have been collecting dream waves and would experiment on them so you could use magic. You’ve learned that dream waves with red hue have an affinity with fire. Blue hue, an affinity with water or ice. Green hue, affinity with wind and brown hue, an affinity with earth and metal.

There are still many different types of dream waves that you encountered but somehow you have yet to attain results on what lies in their source of affinity. You’ve recently collected a yellow hue dream wave but it somehow exploded when you tried to take the root of its source to manipulate it.

Adding insult to injury, your parents heard the explosion from the garage and grounded you for collecting the dream waves.. again.

After that incident, you relocated your experiments to the forest and hid your activities from your parents. You figured that they will never be as supportive as your grandparents in upholding the family profession as dream mavens.

\--  
Pon was shrugging at you while you wipe the sweat that formed around your forehead and headed to a marked tree just beyond the clearing.

As you reached a marked camphor tree, you counted the steps and stopped at the tenth just in front of a large root of the tree. Kneeling down and brushing some wild grass aside, a handle came to your view. It was your secret stash of dream wave and starlight energy you collected and the results from your experiments.

You noticed that it was starting to get cramped.

“Hey Pon, can you help me dig another hole for my second storage?” you yelled out at Pon.

He walked over to you and raised an eyebrow, “You’re really serious, huh? Man, you even dug a storage for yourself.”

“I am. Look. Remember how my grandparents used to tell stories about the ancient times, how we dream mavens were sought for help or guidance from other worlds and realms-?”

“But we’re not even sure if other worlds still exist out there.” He cut you off but you shook your head fervently.

“There’s clear evidence of that and my grandparents know it. It was even recorded in a book.”

Pon tightened his lip and crouched down with you.

“Hikari, isn’t this just you missing your grandparents?” He said softly.

“I do miss them. Everyday! But that’s just half of it. I can’t just deny the fact of who I really am, a dream maven. They’re counting on me to continue their legacy.” You insisted. You’re starting to feel really emotional right now and you hate it.

Since your grandparents died, you never really showed to anyone much of your emotions. You were always convinced that nobody will take you seriously anymore and share your fealty to your roots. And now, even Pon is starting to side with your parents. Your last confidant in this world.

You grabbed a couple round-shaped vials and closed the storage shut. Brushing the wild grass back into place to hide the handle.

You stood up not looking at Pon. “Maybe it was a mistake to tell you all this after all.”

“What?”

“You can go now, Pon. Sorry for bothering you.” You started walking back to the forest, away from Pon.

“Hikari? Wait--” Pon called out, utterly shocked with your sudden iciness to him. He chased you before you entered the forest but you ran ahead and sort of zigzagged your way through the trees.

Pon sighed as he stared at the path where you ran off out of his sight. He felt bad. He realized now how passionate you are on being a dream maven and how desperate your efforts in upholding what your grandparents had left you.

“I should’ve been a better friend”, he whispered. Racked with guilt he started to head back to the clearing with his head hung low.

\--  
Hikari eventually slowed down from running to a brisk walk while looking back to see if Pon tried to follow. You didn’t notice that you were already nearing the end of the forest and this is the area where the larger camphor trees are situated.

You were still busy looking back and checking to see if Pon was just hanging back that you didn’t notice that your surroundings had changed.

A shining stream of twinkling light was surrounding you amidst your awareness. Aside from that, your dominant hand is starting to glow and something was materializing inside that sort of looked like a key. But before it was complete your foot suddenly made an impact on something in front of you and was about to fall face first on the ground. The glowing key from your hand has also faded again.

You realized your collision too late and closed your eyes, braced for impact and ready to drop.  
But you didn’t.

Someone blocked your fall and was holding you with one arm. You peeked with one eye and found yourself somehow leaning unto this person’s arm as you tried to gain balance.

“Omigsoh! I am so sorry!” you exclaimed while backing one step to gather your foothold on the uneven ground.

“You okay?” You heard an upbeat tenor voice. Oh, a dude, you thought.

You straightened your legs and looked up to the one who prevented your fall.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for--” You stopped mid sentence, mouth half agape at what you’re seeing.

You realized that the person in front of you is strikingly familiar to the silhouette of the spiky-haired boy you were dreaming about the whole summer.

You noticed that he was just as shocked as you were and suddenly you were aware of your half open mouth and awkward silence.

You tried to speak any kind of word that was available on your mind.

“Hi.” Not wanting to look lame, you tried to wave but ended up doing a weird twirl with your hand.

“H-Hi.” He responded, awkwardly gesturing his hand up.


	6. The Power of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summoning of a new keyblade.  
> Connecting hearts.

Donald and Goofy were looking back and forth at Sora to the spot he’s looking at.

“Why’d he stopped and just staring there?” Goofy whispered to Donald.

“I’m not sure. Maybe a sudden stomach ache?” The duck whispered back.

The three half-pints had just exited master Yen Sid’s Mysterious Tower. They were walking back to the Gummiship, which was parked beyond the courtyard when Sora suddenly stopped. His one arm swung and seemed to be supporting an invisible weight.

And now, he just greeted and waved to an invisible stranger. Goofy and Donald shared a perplexed look at another.

Sora seemed not aware of the reactions of his companions. He was, however, dumbstruck. One moment, he and his friends were just walking and planning their new quest when all of a sudden, to his surprise, a semi transparent figure appeared in front of him. He noticed that the figure shows features that of a girl to whom was about to topple over. 

On instinct, his body sensed the danger and his hand moved swiftly. He caught her just before her face made contact to the ground.

First thing that came to Sora’s mind was to ask if she was okay, then after a few seconds he realized he was really staring at a translucent figure. He could somehow make out its outline showing short hair, a petite frame and about a foot below his height. The figure was sparkling, almost like a constellation but with a solid silhouette that seemed rather familiar.

Then it hit him. This was the person in his dream. He still can’t make out the face but he just saw the figure mouthed something and did what he assumed to be a wave.

“H-Hi.” He responded, awkwardly gesturing his hand up.

He distinctly heard a giggle come out from the girl. Her laugh was sweet and genuine, Sora can’t help but chortle.

The semi transparent girl seemed to be talking. Sora narrowed his eyes and tried to make out her mouth to read what she was saying.

“Who are you?” Hikari was asking the boy in front of him. You saw him narrow his eyes and shook his head. Can he not hear me? You thought.

“Hello-oow?” You tried again.

It dawned to you that he can see you, but unable to hear you. Looking around, you noticed that your surroundings were not the forest you're familiar with.

You looked at your hands and was surprised to see yourself almost invisible. “What the?!”  
You’re glowing!

It’s as if your whole body was made up of stars and was forming a constellation. You feel a warm tingle on your dominant hand and something was shining brightly there, like something was materializing.

You immediately felt an object on your hand as though it was summoned by the light you produced. A key. A large key.

“Whoa!” You exclaimed. You held it up in front of you and it shone more brightly leaving you stunned.

Unable to grasp an understanding of what's happening, you’re starting to get scared. As soon as you felt that fear, your light faded instantly. The key also vanished as soon as it appeared.

You looked back at the boy and saw that he was pointing at you but calling out to someone from his side. He seems to be not alone.

When he looked back at you, you noticed his big blue eyes looking at you in surprise. You followed his gaze and saw that your already semi transparent form is beginning to fade, the surroundings were getting hazy.

Slightly panicking, you reached out your hand and saw that he did the same. But before either of you reached each other’s hand next thing you knew, you were instantly in the camphor forest again.

Due to the sudden shift, you toppled over a large root from a camphor tree, still staring at the spot where the spiky-haired boy was supposed to be standing.

“It’s him. The boy from my dreams.” You whispered. You realized you were suddenly extremely thirsty and not to mention shaking. You’re not even sure if you can stand up from sitting down on the hard ground.

“Hikari?” Someone called out just over some trees back from the path you came from.

Pon came walking out from the trees and saw your state. He panicked and ran to your side. “Hikari! What happened?? Are you hurt??”

“I-I’m..” You stammer but you can't talk straight, still dumbfounded from the incident that happened. Pon helped you up and you were leaning your whole weight on him from lack of strength.

Pon must have noticed it. “Here.” He assisted you to his back and he piggybacked you all the way back to the clearing.

He helped you sit on the camphor stump and brought you your water bottle from your bag beside the ground storage.

You gulped it down gratefully and took five deep breaths. Pon was still looking at you anxiously, concern still on his face.

Finally, your body seemed to calm down and regained a bit of leg strength. You looked at Pon and grabbed his arm. “Thanks, Pon.”

Relief finally came on his face and smiled weakly. “Gaaaaaad. You scared me, Hikari.”

He slumped on the ground and let his head hang back.

“Sorry, I’m alright now.” You fixed your hair into a ponytail and sat down on the grass with Pon.

“What happened?” Pon finally asked. “At first, I thought you tripped or something but you seemed out of breath and shaking out of your wits, so I panicked!”

“I’m not sure myself. I was--” You stopped yourself. You remembered your disagreement with Pon earlier and wondered if it’s best to discuss it with him. After all, you’re not sure yourself if what happened was real. It felt real though. Even that key that materialized in your hand.

Did you just do that with your powers? And more importantly, did you really see the boy from your dreams? If so, dreams that are powerful contain subliminal messages. It’s a vision, for sure, you thought.

“You were what?” Pon asked again.

You considered Pon for a moment. You seriously think it might not be a good idea to tell him about what happened until you first figure out if a vision really did happen and what it meant.

You were knowledgeable in visions masking itself as dreams so it was not much of a surprise to you if that were the case.

Pon, however, is different. He might be aware of how dream mavens work, but this kind of vision might be too much for him to intake, especially now he’s clearly still rattled by your state earlier.

 _Better not scare him further_ , you thought to yourself.

“I was.. I was just walking and was not really looking at where I was going so.. So I think my foot got caught or something.. I mean, they did get caught.. On those--”

You finished lamely, pointing at something.

Pon looked at the direction you were pointing and then back at you. “The roots?”

You nodded. Great, my rare white lies and I had to stammer. You sneered at yourself and hoped that Pon bought your lame reason.

“That was quite a fall for you to be shaking though. You sure that’s all that happened?” Pon eyed her a little suspiciously.

“Yeah, I was shaking because..” You frantically thought of any reason why you should be shaking in the middle of a forest surrounded with aromatic camphor trees.

“Because.. I was still angry at you?” You said this slowly.

To your relief, Pon’s face softened and looked apologetic.

“Oh man, Hikari. I’m--” You were surprised when he hugged you and patted your hair. “I’m sorry about earlier. I went too far and I wasn’t being a supportive friend. I promise I won’t question your conviction again.”

He let go of you but retained his hands on your shoulders. “Forgive me, okay?”

Your heart tugged with guilt but then again, he did make you so mad earlier that you just nodded and forgave the poor guy.

“We should probably go back.” You announced after a while.

Right now, all you want to do is lock yourself in your grandparents’ library and look up every book they have about subliminal visions. There might be something there about a weapon shaped like a key.

“You could still take some time to rest. Your legs seemed jelly-like for some reason. You must’ve twisted your ankle when your feet got caught.”

“I think I can manage. It might be better for me to rest at home though.”

“Home? Hikari, you need to go to the clinic and have those feet looked at. Come on, I’m taking you right now.” Pon stood up and was about to carry you on his back again.

You evaded his hands and stood up yourself. “I don’t want to go to the clinic. See, I’m fine, Pon. Nothing’s broken or anything.”

“You sure?”

“Yes! Now, let’s go home. I’m hungry. I’ll make us a sandwich?”

“Well, since you mentioned food..” Pon did not hesitate anymore. He grabbed your bag and the two of you started your way back to the city.

\--  
Back at home, you quickly prepared a club sandwich for Pon and yourself. You didn’t realize how hungry you were until after you took a bite of your food.

Pon, however, gobbled up his sandwich as soon as you served it to him. He was typing something on his phone as he was eating.

“Gotta eat and run, Hikari. My superior just sent us a call to order.”

You looked up from eating, “Is there trouble?”

“Nah. He said General Taek wants the new batch of cadets to assemble at the barracks. It’s a routine of his to unceremoniously call out the newbie troops to test their promptness to battle.” He finished his meal and grabbed a soda from the fridge. “Mind if I drink half of this?”

You nodded.

“Cool. Thanks.” He gulped down half of the soda and placed it back on the fridge. 

You were still mulling over what he said, the word “battle” made you nervous. You can’t help but speak your mind, “Promptness to battle? Why does that sound like we’re currently at war or something?”

“Ah, don’t mind it.” Pon shrugged. “The general’s just paranoid that way. Our world has been nothing but peaceful for many centuries now. I doubt there will ever be a battle to be ready for. He thinks it’s just appropriate to be prepared, y’know, as a militia of this world.”

“I see. Well, good luck” You continued eating.

Pon hung back for a second, “I’ll call you later after the assembly. You sure you’re fine now, right?”

“Yes, sir. You are dismissed. Please go away.” You rolled your eyes at him.

He ruffled your hair, “I’ll be going now.” He walked out the door after waving goodbye.

You cleaned up the kitchen before finally heading down the basement, where your grandparent’s library was situated.

Grabbing some books that you thought would be helpful on your search, you sat down by the end of the bookshelf and started going through the pile.

After hours and hours of searching you eventually found some information about using the power of the light and visions to manifest a subliminal message. It was in a book called Book of the Realm. It was an ancient book filled with facts and knowledge about the old Realm of Visions. Your grandparents hardly ever used this book when they were teaching the history of the Dream Mavens.

You noticed that the book’s cover was actually twinkling though in a faded way.

It must’ve been centuries ago since this book was produced, you mused.

Despite the book being so large and bulky, you noticed that it has several missing pages. As you flipped through the book, you came across a page that was not torn out completely. Half of the chapter title was still legible, “Realm of Li--,” you read.

“A realm?” Curiosity at its peak, you tried to make out some of the missing page’s content.

“--different worlds, each holds a keyhole as it’s gateway--”

“--once sealed, cannot be open again--”

“-summoning one’s pure light to wield such weapon that can lock or seal--”

You sat up and backread that last part. “Summoning one’s pure light to wield a weapon? Wait, is it talking about that key thing?”

You scanned the pages once more to see if you can find something on summoning but to no avail.

“I can only summon the star light’s power and dreams, but how can someone summon a pure light? What source?”

You remembered what happened back at camphor forest, how you were transformed into a transparent form and how your hand shined as a key materialized. You distinctly remembered your heart feeling warm and strong.

“Oh!” You gasped. “That’s it!”

It’s as if a light bulb suddenly turned on in your head, you felt giddy at the possibility of manifesting from another source, other than the stars and dreams where you’re used to.

“If what happened back there was a subliminal vision then that means there’s a great possibility that it’s real.” Talking to yourself, you closed the book and stood up.

“The book says that only pure light can summon that weapon. If I can manifest the star and dream power, then maybe I can harness my own heart’s light power.”

You positioned your hand and focused your powers. You feel a warm glow as your hand was starting to shine. Then out of nowhere, the large key appeared again.

“Whoa, it’s heavy.” You maintained a firm grasp on the key’s hilt and tried to steady the weapon.

  
Holding it up in admiration, you were able to examine the key’s every detail. It had a dangling keychain in the shape of a dream icon, like a fluffy cloud, which you find cute. The hilt was in a magnificent coloring of midnight blue, black and white. The grip was in shimmering blue leather surrounded by a polished guard in the shape of a spiraling galaxy. The blade was adorned with a starry night sky hue up to the tip that was shaped in half of a star. The side was the shape of a crown with pointed stars in every jagged corner.

As you stood alone in your grandparent’s library and admiring your weapon and the newly discovered power of light, you barely notice how brightly your heart was shining resounding silently but strong.

Back at the Mysterious Tower, Donald and Goofy were listening intently to Sora’s story.

“--She was just standing there. I can’t make out her face but she’s definitely the one from my dreams, I noticed her heart’s light and somehow, I can feel her heart resonating to mine.”

Sora looked at his friends and smiled, “She’s got a strong heart,” he declared.

“Uh I’m confused. If she was here, then where is she now?” Goofy started looking left and right, expecting the girl to be hiding somewhere in Master Yen Sid’s courtyard. “Is she hiding in the bushes?”

“No, I mean, I think I had a vision again. She might be trying to communicate because she was saying something but-- I couldn’t hear her.”

“Master Yen Sid said to let your heart be your guiding key. And then she appeared at you!” Goofy said excitedly. “Doesn’t that mean your connection with her is getting stronger?”

Sora nodded, “I sure hope so.”

“Figure out already how to locate her realm, Sora?” Donald asked.

“Yep!”

The two stared dumbly at him, “You do??”

“Where?” asked Goofy.

“Master Yen Sid said earlier that the starry night sky in the Mysterious Tower is relevant to its location, so I figured it must be located at the Realm in Between.”

“You mean, the gateway might be near here in this world?”

“Yep, and it was confirmed by her appearance.”

“Good going, Sora!” Goofy tapped his companion’s shoulder proudly.

Sora brushed his nose and chuckled.

“Come on then, let’s board the Gummiship so we can go to the gateway.”

They ran back to the ship and exited Master Yen Sid’s world. Back at the galaxy, Sora used his heart’s power of light to detect the forgotten gateway to the Realm of Visions. Focusing all his desire to locate the heart of the new keyblade wielder, a star-shaped keyhole appeared.

“There it is!” Shouted Donald.

“Ready?” Sora gripped the steering controls and waited for the keyhole to fully materialize.

“Yeah!”

“Alright, here we go!” Sora pushed the overdrive and they zoomed into the gateway leaving a trail of light along its way.


	7. The Wandering Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little space-action for the three half-pints.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am one of the few who enjoyed the space exploration in KH3 even if it took me a while to really get a hang on the controls.  
> This is just a short chapter showing the heroine's capabilities as a dream maven and Sora's mishap in space.  
> Hope you enjoy this. More chapters to be posted soon! Thank you!

  
It was just before the sun was rising that Pon finished his morning drills along with his fellow cadets. They were now slowly treading their way back at the barracks for a well-deserved breakfast before they will be dismissed for the day.

General Taek was at the main entrance gate, looking very strict and eyeing the cadets one by one as the squad entered the stronghold.

“Dmetri Pondeux!!” The general suddenly yelled.

Pon, who was leading the squad, came to a halt and doubled back to march back to where the general was. His squad scurry past him in a hurried jog and there’s one who even made the sign of the cross for him. Pon grimaced at them and internally prepared himself.

Soon as he stopped in front of General Taek, he saluted, “Yes, sir!”

The general hovered and circled him slowly, it made the scene a little too intense despite the nice weather vibe in the morning.

“The militia committee and I have finished observing you since you’ve first joined our city’s military.” He said this while stopping for a moment at Pon’s back.

“Last week was your last day of assessment. You weren’t aware of this, but we were also grading you to the leadership squad program.” General Taek continued and slowly circled Pon again and stopped directly at Pon’s face.

“We’ve come to a decision to assign you as staff sergeant for your squad..” Pon’s eyes were starting to widen

“..starting today.” General Taek finished.

“S-sir?” Pon stammered, he couldn’t believe what he had just heard, he can’t help but broke his formality, “M-me?”

“Someone got your tongue, sergeant?! Speak properly or I’d have to change my mind!”

“N-no, sir! I mean, thank you for the trust and opportunity, General Taek!” Pon saluted the general once more, fighting back tears of pride as he looked on.

The general seemed satisfied with his reaction and finally discharged him. “Go join your squad for breakfast then. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir!!” Pon half marched and half ran to the canteen to inform his squad of this wonderful news.

His squad cheered him at the canteen while having their breakfast, even the other squads joined in and congratulated him for they knew how hard he worked in his training.

Amidst the cheers, Pon suddenly thought, “I can’t wait to tell Hikari.” He smiled at the prospect of his friend being so proud of him.

**  
Meanwhile, at Hikari’s house.

“Hikari! Breakfast!” Mom called from the kitchen.

“Okay, I’m comin’ up.”

Mom peeked at the kitchen door, “Did her voice come from the basement?”

You emerged from the basement door and went to the kitchen to have some breakfast and another cup of coffee. Entering the kitchen, your mom eyed you. ”What were you doing down there this early?”

“Just some research at grandpop’s library.”

Her eyes fell on the used mug you were holding, “You already had coffee? What time did you get up?”

You merely yawned before replying to her. “A little earlier than you, I think.” You grabbed the coffee pot and refilled your mug with the freshly brewed batch made by your mom.

“Well, that’s unusual.” Your mother shrugged and started piling eggs and bacon on three plates.

“Set the table for me, please.”

“Sure.” Grabbing some placemats and utensils, you promptly placed them on the table and sat down, waiting to be fed.

“You shouldn’t get up so early if you’re going to be sluggish for breakfast. And why isn’t your father coming down, it’s almost time to open the office.” Mom marched outside the kitchen and into the living room to fetch her husband.

You groaned and rested your chin on your hand. Actually, you never got any sleep at all last night, ever since you were able to summon that key weapon thing. Once you tried summoning it multiple times, you were back to the Book of Realm and researched some more. You’ve never found anymore information about the weapon though. You wondered who ripped the pages of that book and why would they do that.

Mom and dad finally got back and you three ate breakfast as your mother briefed you and your father about the clients that were coming today for consulting.

After breakfast, you offered to wash the dishes and mom gratefully thanked you and both she and dad went outside to open the studio (which was just attached to your house beside the garage) to start today’s work.

As you washed the dishes, you heard loud footsteps from the backdoor. Before you could turn around Pon burst inside looking excited.

“Hikari!!”

“Uwaah-what??” The plate you were holding, that was slathered with dishwashing soap, slipped out of your hands.

“Whoops.” Pon stretched his hand just in time before the plate hit the floor. He gracefully tossed it to his other hand and placed it in the sink. “Sorry.” He chuckled apologetically.

“I’d have you wash this whole set of dirty dishes if that would’ve break. Be thankful for your athletic capabilities.” Turning your back at him, you continued your labor.

“Geez, isn’t it too early for you to be sour.” He ruffled your hair as he passed you on his way to the table. He inched a chair beside you and sat there, eagerness still on his face.

You pretended not to notice. You were still groggy from lack of sleep, you haven’t got the energy for Pon’s teasing right now. “Hi-ka-ri~” Pon tried to grab your attention in a sing-songy tune.  
“Hi-ka-ri~” Pon started poking your elbow but in a gentle way. He must still be cautious around you. After all, you guys just got over a fight and the last thing he wanted was a pissed Hikari for brunch.

Your patience must be longer today, you thought. You finished doing the dishes and wiped your hands before facing Pon. “What’s up?”

He grinned widely and pointed at his chest. That’s when you noticed that he was still in his training uniform. Your eyes wandered to where he was pointing and gasped, “Sergeant?? You were made sergeant, are you serious?”

Pon laughed out loud.

You still didn’t buy it. “Wait, wait, you didn’t borrow that from your superior just to prank me, did you?” You eyed the medal and Pon puffed out his chest for you to read the name engraved on the plating.

“Dmetri Pondeux - Staff Sergeant Squad V” You read aloud. “Omigosh, congrats Pon!” You hugged your friend as he hugged back. He lifted you and spun you around, both of you laughing.

“Have you told your parents yet?” You asked as he settled you down.

“I went straight here right after our morning drills. I’ll tell ‘em right now, gonna go home and shower!”

“Whew so that’s where the smell was coming from.” You jest and pinched your nose.

He elbowed you and started for the door. “I’ll come by again later, alright?”

“Sure, but I’ll probably be down the basement this afternoon so just go right downstairs.”

“Gotcha.”

You followed Pon through the back door to pick up some fresh bedroom sheets from the laundry at the garage, thinking maybe you’ll get a few hours sleep before joining your parents at the office.

You were so sleepy, you wondered if your parents wouldn’t mind for you to skip work today. You haven’t got any scheduled clients today and would probably just be at the reception desk.

Still yawning as you went back to the house and into your room, you thought that it was unusual for you to be this tired all the time. Usually, you would stay up really late and not even sleep for many hours but you’d still have the energy to experiment with dream energies.

“Is this what "adulting" feels like? Ugh.” You immediately slumped face down on your bed once you changed the sheets. Slowly drifting off to sleep, you remembered that your occurring exhaustion started just this summer, the same time you started having those dreams with the boy and the creature with round ears.

Your breathing slowed as your consciousness transitioned to your subconscious, manifesting yet another dream. This time you were aware that a subliminal vision is forming as your mind wandered through the sky of the City of Dreams and beyond its stars.

Harnessing the power of your own dream, you use that dream energy to form a sort of tangible appearance for your wandering consciousness. You took on the shape of a glowing heart-shaped orb whisking through the stars. This kind of thing is what you loved about your powers as a dream maven, you get this kind of freedom when you need the down time and just be yourself.

“I must be asleep for quite some time now.” You thought after a while. Your heart-shaped orb-self started blinking as if to alert you of something. “What? What?”

You looked around and soon enough, you started to see a glinting object from the west side of the starry sky speeding downwards. “Whoa, is that a shooting star?” As the object grew closer, you finally see that it’s actually a ship.. Made up of some sort of legos?

“A lego ship?? Eeeek!” You bounced out of the way just in time as the ship passed by. You noticed a huge amount of smoke coming from the back of the ship. It seemed that one of its thrusters was damaged and it was barely producing ions that the ship can’t balance its weight and the gravity of your world.

No wonder it’s coming down at that speed, you thought. At this rate, it’ll explode from impact if it can’t land properly.

Thinking of the damage and commotion it would cause, you immediately thought of a way to achieve a soft landing for the ship. “I still haven’t fully recovered my powers yet but I think I can manifest enough star energy to create a barrier around it.”

You started gathering the energy from the stars nearest to you and locked on a radius large enough for the ship to fit into the barrier you will be producing. Aiming for the ship, you concentrated all your powers and successfully managed to create a barrier for the ship. The effect was instantaneous as the ship slowed down enough for whoever’s piloting the ship to regain control and it’s now descending to the City of Dreams.

“It’s not super effective, but at least it won’t crash land and explode. Good job, me!” You praised yourself as your orb-self bounce up and down. You wanted to get closer to the ship for a quick inspection and maybe greet the new arrivals but as you floated towards it, your vision faltered and you could feel your power fading. “Ah, I used too much dream energy, my subconsciousness can’t keep up.” Your heart-shaped orb-self slowly vanished and your light came back to your sleeping body.

You’ve done it this time, you scold yourself as your last consciousness was leaving you. Your grandparents warned you against using your powers and totally draining it. They especially warned you about the total shutdown of your mind and body if your powers are drained as it will automatically reset your powers and charge up while having a dreamless sleep.

**  
Back in the atmosphere, Sora finally regained control of the ship albeit still descending a little faster than what they usually would’ve done.

“I detected a barrier has been cast around the ship!” Donald exclaimed. He peeked at the window and sure enough, a barrier was indeed surrounding them assisting their ship as they made their descent.

.”You mean, you’re not the one who made that?” asked Goofy pointing out the window.

The duck shook his head, “Uh-uh, Sora and I were too busy wrestling with the steering control wheel.”

**Earlier in the warp drive

The trio’s travel to the strange gateway to the Realm of Vision was trickier than they expected. There were more meteorites in this galaxy and larger ones at that!

“Guys, buckle up! There’s too many meteorites here, I’d have to maneuver our way in.” Sora called out the two at the backseat.

“Look out!” Donald suddenly shouted, pointing at the front of the ship. An abnormally large meteorite was just above the Gummiship front panel window.

“Gaah!” Sora barely dodged the large thing and activated the Gummiship’s laser to disintegrate the meteor into pieces.

“Nice move, Sora! A-hyuk!” Goofy and Sora high-fived.

“Not quite! Speed up now! The debris’ gonna hit--Waaaak!” Donald was thrown forward to the back of Sora’s seat. “Whoaaa!!” Goofy and Sora were almost knocked down as well if it hadn’t been for their seatbelt. Something hit the back of the Gummiship, Sora could see a trail of smoke coming from one of the thrusters.

“Oh no, I can’t control the ship. We’re descending too fast!” Sora rigged the steering wheel but it’s no use, the force of gravity was too strong and it’s pulling the ship down in a speedy momentum.

“Donald, we’re getting closer to the land. How’re we gonna stop??” Sora was still fighting the steering wheel along with Donald, who was desperately pulling it up.

Suddenly, the Gummiship was slowing down and Donald detected the barrier that’s now enveloping their ship.

***

“If it wasn’t Donald, then, Sora?” Goofy looked at Sora and saw that he wasn’t even holding his keyblade to cast any spells at the moment.

“Not me. I was busy with the controls too.” He scratched his cheek lightly as the three of them wondered who saved them.

“Oh! We’ve got to move, I can see a city in that world. Best not to land there, we’re not totally in control of the speed yet ‘cause of the broken thruster.” Donald took over the main seat and started scanning the area for a wide space to land on.

Sora looked over the window and saw a large city. It just occurred to him that the sky here was composed of a cloudy starry night that Master Yen Sid had described in his dream.

“We really made it. We made it to the Forgotten Realm!” Sora chuckled and Goofy gave him the thumbs up.

The main control lit up in green, “There! We can land on that little forest beyond the city!” The duck was pointing beyond the city grounds where a clearing can be found just beside a small forest.

Donald gripped the controls and tried the best he could to steady the ship as it passed the city.. “Hold on to your seats, it’s not gonna be a soft landing.” The three braced for impact as the Gummiship skidded to a halt just before hitting a stump at the clearing.

“Whew, we’re alive!” Goofy wiped a sweat that has formed on his forehead.

“Come on, let’s check the damage at the back.” Sora started for the door.

“Ohh, Chip and Dale aren’t gonna be happy.” Donald was more worried about Chip's reaction when he found out the ship was damaged.

As the three were inspecting the ship, a pair of eyes were watching them intently from the bushes at the path just a little ways to the city.

A device vibrated and a phone was whipped up to read a message:

**Staff Sergeant Pondeux, status report.**

Pon dialed to his phone and whispered his report, “No casualties. The ship landed safely enough. Three civilians emerged but they don’t look like intruders. More like tourists.”

**that, staff sergeant. Backup still on-standby.**

Pon pocketed his phone and stood up from the bushes. He straightened his uniform and started walking to the clearing to greet the newcomers. He can’t help but feel a slight dread as he looked at the damaged trees that the wings of the ship had hit.

“Oh man, Hikari will not be pleased if she saw what happened to her forest.” Pon sighed.


	8. A Familiar Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter for now. Got swamped at compiling the chapters I wrote and ended up revising them.  
> Kinda lost track (due to work-related stress lol) of the supposedly weekly chapter uploads but hopefully, I can finally upload the long chapter soon.  
> Hope you still enjoy this chapter. Thanks for the support! :)

Sora, Donald and Goofy stood behind the Gummi ship and examined the damage it took from the meteorite debris.

“So.. How do we fix the ship?” Sora scratched his head at his friends.

“Well, we have some blueprints and tools that Chip and Dale packed before we left Disney Castle. We could use those.” Donald went closer to the damaged thruster. “But first, we need to check what’s the main damage here.”

“Get me those tools and blueprints, Goofy.” The duck had his hands on his hip as he cast Waterza on the thruster to put out the remaining smoke from the engine.

“Coming right up! A-hyuk!” The jolly knight marched back to the ship to get what Donald asked for. Sora looked at Donald expectantly.

“What can I do, Donald?” He pointed at his face with a big smile.

The duck was just about to cast Aero on himself to get on top of the thruster, paused and looked worried. His wand half-way upwards, he glanced at Sora, “Uhh, I think it’s best if you just stay put there and let me and Goofy handle this.”

Goofy arrived with the blueprints and tool kit. “He’s right. We all know you’re not so good with technology and building things.” He said as he handed Donald the stuff.

Donald raised his wand again and casted a spell. “Aero!” He flew up and landed at the thruster before Sora can say anything else. Goofy shrugged at Sora.

“Aww. But I want to help, too.” The spiky boy slumped his shoulders.

“Well, why don’t you scan the area for a bit?” Goofy suggested. ”Keep a look out or somethin’?”

He gave Goofy a dispirited look. “Okay, I guess.”

Sora turned his back and faced the city beyond. “Hey! I can see the city from here!”

At that, he instantly grew excited. “Maybe I could find a path that leads to the city!” The usual adventure twinkled in his eyes whenever they arrived in a new world.

Sora started to walk around the parameter of the area they had landed. He noticed that the forest is full of camphor trees with few different shrubs and bushes mixed within. It somehow seemed familiar.

“Greetings, traveler!” Someone behind him suddenly talked in a booming voice.

“Oh!” Sora chuckled. “You startled me!” Scratching his head as he turned to face the greeter. “Hi, I’m Sora.”

The stranger was wearing a uniform and was marching briskly towards him.  _ He’s tall, maybe the same height as Riku _ , Sora thought.

“Hello, Sora. Name’s Sergeant Dmetri Pondeux, Squad V Militia.” They shook hands. Sora couldn’t help but feel the stiffness of the person in front of him.

_ Am I in trouble? Did I mess up the world order again?  _ Sora thought, anticipating a scolding session with Donald back at the Gummi ship.

As the sergeant let go of his hand, he suddenly grinned and said, “But you can call me Pon.”

“Nice to meet you, Pon.” Sora smiled.

“So Sora, mind if I ask you some questions about your ship and how you got here?”

“Uhh, sure. Our ship’s damaged right now though.”

“Yes, I am aware. We actually detected your ship when you guys entered our atmosphere. It was speeding downwards at an alarming rate so we were alerted and had you put into our surveillance.”

Sora scratched his head, “Y-yeah, sorry about that. We didn’t mean to land that way. You see, we were hit by some debris at the warp drive-”

At his last words, sorry realized his mistake and clapped his hands to his mouth. “Ooph!”

“Warp.. what?” The sergeant stepped closer.

“W-what I meant was the aerial route drive ehehe.” Sorry frantically waved his hands in dismissal as Pon raised an eyebrow. “A-anyway, a meteorite struck the thrusters of our Gummi ship, that’s why we had to crash land here in the forest.”

“A Gummi ship, huh? Is that what it’s called?” Pointing at Sora’s ship not too far from them.

“Yep, it runs on smiles.” Sora said proudly. “..Or happy faces.”

“Wow! Amazing!” Pon suddenly became excited, and seemed interested of it’s engine power rather than the assignment he was given. “What’s the horsepower--”

***Beep-beep*** “Oh, excuse me for a moment.” Pon took out his phone and read a message.

**Status report, sergeant.**

Pon pocketed his phone, crossed his arms and tapped his chin. “Well, Sora.. I will have to report your landing as a mild incident, you know, since you did cross over the city’s no-fly zone.”

Sora looked down, disappointed. “Ohh..”

“But… given the circumstances,” Pon playfuly with his tone. Sora looked up and saw him slightly smiled. “Since your ship’s apparently been damaged in our world’s atmosphere, that holds us partially responsible. Aaaand since you DID manage to maneuver to a safe place to land instead, I’d say I can let you off the hook-..”

Sora raised his clenched arms as he smiled widely at Pon.

“And instead, welcome you as tourist travelers in the City of Dreams!” Pon finished as he gestured to the city.

“Wow, thanks Pon! I can’t wait to explore the city. Why’s it called The City of Dreams?”

“I’ll explain when we get there. First, will you introduce me to the rest of your companions?”

“No problem! Come on, they’re fixing the Gummi ship right now.” Sora and Pon started walking back to the ship as Pon added, “I would like to get a closer look at your interesting ship, too. The materials are peculiar.. ”

They reached the ship’s landing area as Goofy and Donald were just about to go down from the thrusters.

Sora ran to them as soon as they got on the ground. “Donald! Goofy! I want you to meet someone.”

Goofy and Donald looked at each other. “Huh? You already met a new friend?” Donald scratched his head.

Goofy chuckled, “That’s Sora, friendly with everybody.”

Sora chuckled as he scratched his nose. Pon appeared behind him and couldn’t hide his surprise as he looked behind Sora’s companions and saw the Gummi Ship. “Amazing! That ship’s even more peculiar up close!”

Sora laughed. “It didn’t really register to me earlier that you’re a ship fanatic until now.”

Pon composed himself immediately, a little embarrassed at his outburst and bypassing the other two. “Oh! Sorry, I’m being rude.” He stood at Donald and Goofy and saluted. “Nice to meet you, friends of Sora. My name’s Dmetri Pondeux, Staff Sergeant of Squad V City of Dreams’ Militia.”

Goofy, being the Captain of the Royal Knights at Disney Castle himself, saluted instantly at the sergeant’s gesture. “The name’s Goofy, and this here’s Donald. Nice to meet’ya!”

Pon offered his hand and shook hands with Donald. “Well, since the introduction is over and done, mind if I ask you three what brought you to the City of Dreams?”

The trio looked at each other before Donald spoke for them, “We’re here to find someone. But as you can see, our ship’s been damaged and we’re trying to fix it and this clearing before we could do anything else.”

“Yeah, and sorry for the messy landing, sergeant.” Goofy scratched the side of his head.

Pon waved his hands in dismissal, “Oh, that’s understandable. My team already assessed the situation and Sora here kindly explained to me what happened when we met.” Donald and Goofy smiled widely in relief.

“Oh, and just call me Pon.” The sergeant added with a kind smile.

“Gee, thanks Pon!” Donald glanced at the Gummi Ship and saw that the thruster’s starting to smoke again. “Uh oh, we need to fix the ship soon. We need to remove that damaged thruster and replace it.” Donald explained to Sora.

“That bad, huh? But Where’re we gonna find a replacement for that?” Sora looked worried.

Pon stepped forward, “I think I can assist you with that. I know the city’s stores at the back of my hand. Plus, we can make it a nice tour for you guys as well.”

Sora beamed at the statement. “I’m up for that! Come on, guys!”

But Donald and Goofy we’re already back at the ship trying to disassemble the thruster. Donald called out to Sora, “I don’t think we should leave the ship in this state, the thrusters’ not calming down even when I cast Waterza on it. Me and Goofy will take out this damaged part while you get what we need.” Donald casted another Waterza spell over the smoke.

“Oh! You’re a magician! Fascinating! I’d never thought I’d meet a real life magician!” Pon’s eyes sparkled like the stars, like what he always looked like whenever Hikari shows him her powers from her dream energy. Which reminded him…

“Oh, you’ve got to meet my friend. She’s an aspiring magic caster as well, although I’m not so sure if her powers count as magic.” Pon pondered fondly. He said this very fast and did not notice Sora’s dumbfounded look.

“Wait, wait, slow down, Pon.” Sora laughed. “Did you say you have a magician friend?”

“Uhh, kind of a magician, I guess?” Pon rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t like to be called that, to be honest. She’d smack me down if she heard me call her that. But yeah, she can cast elements like Donald.”

“Whoa, she sounds amazing. I’d love to meet her.”

“Well, we can stop by her house so she can join us for the tour!” Pon said excitedly and started marching on the path to the city as Sora followed suit.

Sora turned around at his two friends and shouted, “I’ll be back in no time with the replacement part, guys!”

“Do behave yourself and say hi to your magician friend for me, Pon! I’d love to meet her soon, too you know!” Donald quacked. Goofy also hollered, “Don’t forget about me, I’d love to meet her too!”

The two boys waved back before continuing their march but Pon slowed down and walked closer to Sora, “Oh, and Sora, please don’t mention to my friend about the damaged clearing for now, okay?”

Sora blinked, “Uh, okay? But why, will she get mad?”

Pon shivered at the thought of rage mode Hikari, “Oohh, you have no idea. Best not to speak of it until we fixed the ship and the clearing, mate.”

Pon looked so scared that Sora gulped and nodded. “Whatever you say, Sergeant Pon.”

The two clasp their hands in agreement and continued their walk to the city.

\----

Hikari woke with a start and glanced at her clock, “Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh! It’s that late already.”   
  
You bolted up and grabbed a change of clothes from the bedside drawer. “I can’t believe I overslept! Mom’s gonna be furious!”

You hastily washed your face in the bathroom and changed your clothes before dashing down the stairs to the kitchen.

“You’re late.” Mom was tossing some pasta on the pan in front of her. She’s already cooking lunch.

“Sorry, mom.” You bowed apologetically and heard your father clear his throat. You look up to him and put your palms together. “Hey, Dad. Sorry, I didn’t show up at the office today.”

“I checked you in your room earlier.” Dad said and your heart pounded. Did he see you overuse your powers?

“You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t wake you.” He looked at you and added, “Next time, don’t stay up too late when you know there’s work the next morning.”

You sighed in relief, “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Well, no use dwelling too much over it. Come and grab lunch. Your father and I have been scheduled for an on-call visit by a few clients who can’t make the afternoon sessions.”

You looked down guiltily. It’s a good thing you don’t have a scheduled client this morning, but you have to ask anyway, as to follow your mother’s code of conduct with work, “D-did any of my clients ask for me?”

Mom sat down first after setting down three plates of pasta on the table. “No, and good thing too or I would have to wake you up if your father can’t.”

You gulped and thought it’s best to not talk back. You sat down and whispered an apology before eating in silence.

You thought it’s best not to tell them that for the first time ever, you were able to fully use your maven powers but went into total shutdown, like what your grandparents warned you about.

After lunch, your parents went ahead to their scheduled home visits to the clients in the city while you went back to the basement and into your grandfather’s library to look up a dream maven’s total shutdown. You thought it might be written in your grandparents’ notes that was kept in the locked drawer on their old desk. The problem is finding the key as your parents were the ones who kept and hid it.

As you were browsing the shelves, you were so absorbed that you didn’t hear someone calling from the front door of your house.

“Hikariiii~ Hey, you home??” Pon called out from the door as Sora peeked over his shoulder.

“Uh, guess nobody’s home?” Sora shrugged.

Pon scratched his head trying not to be annoyed. Usually he would’ve straight up opened the front door or the kitchen back door at Hikari’s house but today, both doors were unusually locked. “And she even specifically told me to come straight downstairs to the basement.” Pon said to himself and clicked his tongue.

“Sorry?”

“Oh, never mind Sora. I was just told that she’d be here today but I guess she changed her plans.” Pon crossed his arms and tapped his feet, clearly getting seriously annoyed. It’s not normal for Hikari to just lock the door or go out without even leaving him a message, especially when she knew he said he’d stop by.

“Pon?” Sora tapped his shoulder. “Should we go look for her or something?”

“Nah, we can just continue with the tour ourselves.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I was kinda looking forward to meeting her but maybe we’ll catch her next time.” He smiled at Pon.

“Yeah, I guess. Besides, we do need to get the replacement part for your ship--”

Pon was interrupted by the sound of locks unlocking from the front door. It opened and Sora saw a blue-haired girl peeking from the door, “Pon?”

Pon grimaced, “Man! About time! I thought you’ve gone out or something!”

The girl stepped out of the door completely and put her right arm on her neck, “S-sorry, I forgot my parents locked the doors before they headed out earlier for some home visits. I was downstairs at the basement so I didn't hear you call out. Good thing I got thirsty and saw you on my way to the kitchen. Hey, who’s your friend? Someone new in your squad?”

Sora can’t stop staring at the girl while she was talking to Pon. There’s something about her that seemed familiar but he can’t quite put his finger on it-- “Soraaa~”

“H-huh?” Sora blinked stupidly as he realized Pon was talking to him. “Oh, sorry. H-hi, I’m Sora.”

The girl chuckled, “Yeah, I got that from Pon already. I said, my name is Hikari.” As she smiled, Sora noticed a deep dimple appeared on her right cheek.

“Nice to meet you, Hikari.” Sora offered his hand and Hikari took it and they shook hands. Sora can’t stop smiling as he was shaking Hikari’s hand until he can’t stop himself from blurting out, “Have we… met before?”

Hikari’s eyes widened as she stared at Sora.


	9. --The Dark Margin--

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From darkness to light once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, an update. ^_^  
> Sorry, it's just a short one though.  
> Little backstory; I have been distracted with a new idea for a fanfic (ff7R related).  
> So my heart was not set on drafting more chapters for Light&Sky in the past months.  
> BUT after finally playing ReMind dlc, my passion is back again and will be adding more chapters. :)
> 
> -any errors will be fixed later

King Mickey and Riku are once again inside the Realm of Darkness, hopefully to finally find Aqua and save her.

"This is where we last marked our previous search." Mickey was standing at a shore of darkness and beyond him was the End of the Sea.

"You're positive that Aqua might be here?" Riku asked the king.

"I felt here lingering light here before." Mickey looked at Riku. "I sensed Aqua is close.. at least."

Riku looked at the vast sea before them, beyond the shore where he knew the end of the sea is where the deepest of the realm lies ahead.

Something flickered near the shore of the Dark Margin and it caught Riku's eyes.

"Y-your majesty! Over there!" Pointing to the direction of the flicker which is now slowly surrounded by a dark whirlpool.

Mickey followed where Riku's finger was pointing at just in time to see someone emerging from the dark sea. The light that Riku saw was a mere glint of Aqua's yellow shaded eyes.  
But is that really Aqua? Mickey recalled that her eyes are as blue as Sora's.

"Aqua..no." Mickey can only whisper.

"What do we do, King Mickey?" Riku summoned his keyblade ready to defend. "Aqua. She's-"

The mouse was still speechless when he noticed that Anti-Aqua was glaring at him with her sharp yellow eyes. 

"You're too late, Mickey." She spoke.

"Aqua.. Please." Mickey started to approach her.

Riku tried to follow, but Mickey gestured his hand to stop him. "But.. King Mickey-"

"It's okay, Riku. I'm going to save Aqua. She's still inside that dark heartless and I'll come for her, as promised."

Anti-Aqua laughed. "You still think I can be saved?!"

She started to walk across the dark sea, several shadow heartless have started to emerge from behind her.

"Wake up, Mickey! Look at me and accept that you've failed. Take a good long look at what you have abandoned in this realm."  
She spread her arms and the dark aura surrounding her thickens and emitted heavily through the sea until it reached the shore where Riku and Mickey stood.  
The shadows started to attack King Mickey while several other types of heartless ambushed Riku from behind.

"Graah!" As Riku clashed his keyblade with numerous heartless, he caught a glimpse of King Mickey effortlessly breaking the swarm of shadows who attacked him on the shore. The other swarm of heartless are now forming a demon tower.

Making a last swish of his keyblade at the remaining heartless in front of him, Riku dashed to Mickey and triggered a team attack. "Double duel!" Shouted Riku and Mickey somersaulted to his side.

They made two spinning attacks of light and darkness towards the demon tower, breaking off the heartless and then finishing them off in smaller groups.

Anti-Aqua stood menacing at the shore while she watched the keyblade wielders fight their way through the horde of heartless, when suddenly a black hooded figure materialized at her side.

Anti-Aqua glanced at the hooded figure. "You. What do you want?"

"Got the order from the bosses. About their new guardian of light." The hooded figure replied. A smirk can be seen as he lifted his head slightly. "Hm, looks like they're headed this way."

Riku and Mickey were able to finish off all the heartless and both of them are now running towards them. Anti-Aqua frowned at the hooded figure. "I don't give a shit about your bosses' orders. I'll deal with the mouse king myself."

"How did you know about the new guardian of light? What're you plotting?" Riku shouted at the hooded figure. Somehow, it reminded Riku of a sinister force that overpowered him before.

Anti-Aqua lunged at Mickey and the mouse guarded just in time. "Did you forget already, Mickey? Where I was from originally, before I was tasked to be a keyblade wielder?"

As Mickey locked keyblades with Aqua, he remembered a flashback when he was just a trainee under Master Yen Sid. He recalled running an errand for him to his old friend, Master Eraqus. While he was at the Land of Departure, he saw a girl with striking blue hair having a spar with another boy with dark brown mane. Master Eraqus mentioned that the girl was from the Forgotten Realm and was tasked to be trained as a Keyblade Master under his tutelage. 

King Mickey gasped, "You're from the Realm of Visions. Were you the one who passed on the power of light to Hikari? But how..?"

Anti-Aqua bursted a dark aura that almost engulfed Mickey hadn't he dodged out of the way.

"Enough talk! We both know you're smart enough to figure that out already! Now, get ready to be crushed!" She raised another wave of shadows to form another demon tower. It strike Mickey in an instant.

"Oof!" Mickey was caught off guard and his keyblade flew out of his hands and vanished.

"Mickey!" Riku started running to his king's aid but was blocked by the hooded figure.

"Let them be.” Drawled the hooded figure. ”It's their most awaited reunion after all.”

"Out of my way!" Riku swung his keyblade at him and the hooded man just casually jumped up and floated in mid-air.

"Aww. I'm hurt. Don't you recognize me at all.. Keyblade Master Riku?" He smirked and let out a booming laugh.

That laugh, Riku thought. A chill ran through him like cold ice as the man lowered his hood and finally revealed himself, Ansem the Seeker of Darkness.

Riku gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his keyblade.

Ansem grinned maliciously. “Not happy to see me? Heh.”

“Shut up! Whatever it is you’re plotting, I’m stopping you here right now!”

“Tsk tsk. Now, aren’t you a little bit curious about what we’re going to do to this new guardian of light?” Ansem mocked him and lowered himself to the ground. “And here we thought you wanted to meet her so badly.”

“What- what’re you-?” Riku’s mind is racing. He needs to rescue Mickey fast but Ansem’s leaking information about the new guardian of light. Sora must be near or might be already in her world right now. What should he do?

Ansem seemed delighted at Riku’s confusion so he continued, “Don’t worry, we’re not going to harm her. In fact, we’re going to “help” her fully develop her power of light.”

“What do you mean?” Out of the corner of Riku’s eyes, Mickey had now been totally swamped by the demon tower and Anti-Aqua posing to unleash a dark orb at the king.

Torn between running to Mickey’s aid or learn the truth from Ansem, Riku made a last minute decision and sent a dark power directed at Ansem.

Ansem merely teleported out of the way and reappeared beside Anti-Aqua with a knowing smile at his face.

Riku then ran and faced the demon tower as Anti-Aqua unleashed a dark orb towards them.

Sacrificing his Way To The Dawn keyblade, Riku threw his weapon at the dark orb to block it. He saw his keyblade hit the dark orb and immediately dove into the demon tower.

Shocked at Riku’s sudden counterattack, Anti-Aqua got scratched at the shoulder by the broken hilt of the keyblade as it was snapped in two. The pointed edge of the keyblade fell into the dark sea and hilt impaled the sand near Aqua.

Ansem looked at Anti-Aqua and smirked, “I think you have this under control after all.” He drawled sarcastically. “I’ll take my leave now. We have big plans for your old home after all.”

Ansem turned around and formed a corridor of darkness but glanced back at Anti-Aqua. “Be sure to finish them off.. If they can get out of that tower, that is.” And with that he disappeared into the corridor of darkness.

Anti-Aqua glared at Ansem as he left. Suddenly, the demon tower collapsed and Riku burst out of the scattering heartless with King Mickey in his arms.

“What?” Aqua stepped back. “How did you survive the demon tower without a keyblade?!”

Riku landed smoothly at the shore and helped Mickey on his feet.

“Don’t need it.”

Riku’s face somehow looked more mature, he looked taller and his hair seemed to be cut more neatly.

Mickey slowly rose up but slumped down again having most of his strength sucked up by the heartless.

“Leave this to me, King Mickey.” Riku raised his hand and summoned a new keyblade. “Let us save you, Aqua.”

He positioned his keyblade towards Aqua and lunged at her.

Anti-Aqua raised a dark forcefield around her and smirked, “Don’t make me laugh. You’re just like your mouse king, full of broken promises. Who saved Kairi again? Oh right, Sora did. Not you!”

Aqua blasted Riku away from her but Riku slashed her projectile and landed safely on the sand.

“We all saved her. Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Sora.. and Me.We did it together. As we will also save you.”Riku said calmly.

This pushed Anti-Aqua into rage mode, “Enough!” She lunged at Riku showering him with more dark orbs and blasting projectiles left and right.

Dodging all of them, Riku dashed his way across the blasts until he reached Aqua, who was surprised at Riku’s sudden movement. Riku noticed Aqua’s yellow eyes had tears lingering at the corner.

“You can’t save me. Not anymore.” Said Aqua, weakly. “I’m too far gone.” 

“No, you’re not. Everyone can be saved. I can attest to that.”

“Shut up!” Anti-Aqua created a large dark wave before her to back Riku away from her. Riku blocked it with his new keyblade and summoned the power of light within him.

A blinding light surrounded Riku, behind him a shadow of his former self appeared without his knowing, supporting him with his own light.

“Grrr-aaaahh!” Making a double slash of light, Riku hit Aqua and she fell once again into the sea of darkness.

“So.. this is the end.. For me.” As Aqua was slowly sinking she caught a glimpse of Riku’s keyblade, she reached out for it and Riku, who was on the other side of the sea surface pulled Aqua and carried her to the shore where Mickey is still too weak to move.

“Riku! Aqua!” Mickey tried to run to them but fell down.

“Don’t force yourself King Mickey.” Riku laid Aqua beside Mickey and quickly casted Cure on the injured mouse king. “There, feel better?”

“Yes, thank you Riku. And thanks for saving Aqua.” Mickey smiled at his friend and turned his attention to Aqua, who’s eyes were still closed.

“Is she okay?” Riku inquired. “I made sure to only use my power of light when I fought her but, I don’t know if I held back enough..” Riku lowered his head looking worried.

“I’m fine.” A mellow voice said. It was Aqua, she finally opened her eyes, blue once more. “Thanks for saving me, Riku. Mickey.” The tears that formed at her eyes when they were yellow just earlier had now rushed down as she hugged her friend.

“Aqua! You’re back!” Mickey hugged Aqua back.

Riku smiled in relief beside them and said, “Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support in this fanfic!  
> Been v busy and anxious as well, what with all this unfortunate events happening in the world.  
> I hope you guys are safe and washing your hands. ;)))


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